


Tongue Tied

by emptyalien



Series: trying to feed karlnap nation [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Confessions, Drunken Confessions, Flirting, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, and turns into a school girl crush, but it goes horribly wrong, but no homo, collage AU, drugs/substances, hints of social anxiety, kissing the homies, losely based off the song daddy issues, my first romantic fic, oh god this is gonna be a ride, only a little sbi guys, pinning, platonic dt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27652759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emptyalien/pseuds/emptyalien
Summary: it was just supposed to be a one-time thing really, he'd stay and then leave the next morning. but then he got attached to the nimrod.even though all his other friends left, he's got a good feeling about this pothead sticking by his side.karl's got a lot of problems but the pothead fixes about five of them.(aka, karl kidnaps a stoner and then accidentally falls in love)
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Karl Jacobs, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Karl Jacobs, GeorgeNotFound & Karl Jacobs, Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Series: trying to feed karlnap nation [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2180442
Comments: 43
Kudos: 500





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this is my first romantic fic im posting and i really dont want cc's to see it thank you :) although i dont mind you mentioning it anywhere but just do not directly shove this fic in their face!!
> 
> but otherwise this is sort out of my comfort zone because i mostly write platonic stuff, im a soft soul y'know  
> but im excited to try new things <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> karl sort of accidentally becomes a kidnapper, he stole a stoner.

the cup was empty

all that was left was some drops bear karl didn't feel like dumping out and bending his neck to get, it was useless.

in fact, this entire party was useless, it was all probably going to be a fuzz in the morning.

what was the point of parties anyway? karl knew people just wanted to get drunk and do stupid things that's one reason. but what was his? he had been on pure autopilot ever since he had his first drink, now he's here consulting society and why parties are enjoyable. karl laughs sadly to himself, he is the worst drunk.

the alcohol in his system mixed with regret and a sick feeling. the kind you get when you're taking off in a plane. or when you're being eaten alive by the waves on the beach.

hell, it didn't matter really. he tried to ignore it. again there was no point. because karl was gonna leave soon. he'd leave behind the living room filled with rotting drunk college kids who were trying to out drink their debt. and hopefully, leave the sickly feeling with it. 

people who were in their zone danced around carelessly like buzzing alcoholic bees. oh, karl would pay millions of dollars to be able to enjoy a night like this, alas he was one of those broke college students.

he let his clouded fuzz ball of a brain led away to the trash to toss his trademark red cup.  
his world felt like it was turning on an x-axis as he continued to head toward the kitchen. once in a while drunk thought would pop in and out of his empty head.

the kitchen was bleak, like several other of the dorms in the building. it lacked the feeling of a home only a few could achieve. the tile was a dirty white and beer and beverages were scattered all over the counters a couple of them were probably spiked with drugs, again how do people enjoy parties?  
  
drunks lingered but karl ignored them, it was hard too though. they looked like dead bodies if they were asleep- others looked dead tired. it was a graveyard.

he tossed his red cup away down the hella dirty bin. he blinked his eyes a couple of times trying to reset his empty brain, that was his first mistake.

see karl genuinely thought he would be going home soon. but when he noticed the fireball, hellbent soul that stood out like a star only a few feet ahead of him. his brain short-circuited. he had never seen this guy before, no wait he had. he could remember his name, but he played football. 

his jet black hair and dumb smile is all he could remember from when he first saw him. karl had been following his friend around campus when he saw him being loud and ecstatic with two other what he could assume were football players too.

but right now the guy looked so out of it. his eyes were almost completely bloodshot and he had a dopey grin, but it looked like a cry for help if anything. If karl could smell him over all the sweaty people he would probably smell weed too. karl almost felt bad. scratch that, he did feel bad.

and maybe this is why his brain which we have established as empty, made the conscious decision go up to him. karl likes to think he was a shy person with new people but he wasn't with his friends. 

but he would die for even the smallest insect, so maybe he would die for anyone or help anyone he knew. even though he didn't know this guy; his thought process was a little wack right about now. finally, the guy made eye contact with him. karl's body moved before him once again and finally got into gear.

"hey are you ok?"

the guy shrugged.

there was a small beat of silence, not really with the party going on in the background.  
karl thought through it.

"do you know where your friends are?"

the guy shrugged again.

"how high...are you??"

another shrug

see karl liked to think he was patient, but right he really wasn't having it. he wants to leave, but he knows guilt will eat him up if he leaves this guy.

"okay nimrod...you obviously need to get somewhere that's not here, and like fast so.."  
karl thought he would classify this as being aggressively nice.

in his head's empty state, his brain came up with the most astounding solution.

"do you want to go to my dorm?"

the guy seemed to think, but it was hard to tell really. but he slowly nodded and suddenly grabbed karl hand.

karl cursed himself and how much he loved physical contact. even though he even adored it from strangers. maybe he was a little too drunk.

karl huffed, but it really sounded more like a sigh of content as he led the guy out of the party. he was sure this be would one-time thing and he'd never see this guy again. and forget about it in the morning. but something about this guy had set something off in karl, he was intrigued. but he chalked it down to alcohol.

as they stalked down the same hallways and into the cold elevator of the dorm building.

the guy continued to hold karl's hand. as they went down the elevator that only had one working light he noticed the guy's hand was rough. and for some reason a little bigger than his despite him being seemingly taller than the guy. maybe it was cause he played football karl assumed. but nonetheless, he wouldn't mind holding his hand all the time.

karl quickly pulled out of the elevator as the guy stumbled behind him, a bit slower.  
karl was ready to lay down and let all the drunk thoughts wash out of his head as a wave of sleep washed and cleansed him of all the night's events. he made it to his room number.

one-four-three, he had memorized it with a passion because he was always afraid he'd forget it. he maneuvered to get his keys without letting the guy's hand go and opened his apartment door with the satisfying click he was so used to.

his apartment was actually a two-person apartment, he had a roommate who moved out, to live with his wife a new kid so now he was all alone. 

he didn't mind it though. _yes he did_. he got to add a few more clean decorations. his favorite thing was that the couch was sort of close to the door with the living room. so after a rough day, you could jump onto it.

he also liked the windows to the side of the wall which his dining table of two sat under. he could watch the sky as he ate ramen. on the opposite side of the room was the kitchen.

he finally breathed in his apartment smell, it always smelt like sweets and blueberry because he always had scented things going. it was a preference of his. but as the guy walked in with him, in came the weed smell.

karl sighed once again. he was going to have to make a sigh counter. he let go of the guy's hand and shut the door and locked it. before turning back to the guy who seemed to be lost looking at the apartment. or he had too much and was tripping.

karl looked into this guy's once again bloodshot eyes, he looked really...stupid. he couldn't stop himself from smiling, although nothing about it was funny.

"hey, what's your name? mines karl, forgot to mention." he tried to come off causal.

"mm..call me sapnap." he mumbled.

karl couldn't help but let out a giggly laugh at that. It had been a sort of depressing night but this was probably the highlight. sapnap seemed to brighten a bit too.

"okay..'sapnap' can you tell your friends your here and I could..." 

karl trailed off as he looked at sapnap's attire, the clothes were wrinkled and reeked of weed. it seriously clashed with his home scents.

"i could get you some clothes so you don't smell like drugs and booze."

sapnap gave out a giggle and pulled out his phone. karl was glad he wasn't completely out of it. he headed off to his room and began picking out some clothes for this stranger he picked up.

* * *

karl lay on the couch, on his phone. in his favorite position, his back against the armrest with his knees tucked in

. he was scrolling through his social media making one last check of the night, or morning since it was exactly twelve in the morning. he had fallen down the rabbit hole of twitter. and his timeline magically knew he was drunk because all there was were drunk tweets.

he had turned off the lights after sapnap left to change in his room. he had actually changed his own clothes and was now in a hoodie with the typical grey sweat pants. he basically lived in them.

sapnap opened the door to karl's bedroom down the hall, the sound of bare feet against the lament that wasn't his. it sounded strange to karl.

the raven stood, without straight posture behind the couch. "where do i..where do i put these clothes?" sapnap asked, it seemed like he was struggling to form a coherent sentence at this point.

"just toss them back in my room, i'll clean them later."  
karl said attention not breaking from his phone.

sapnap hummed as he headed back to the room, and then once again he arrived in the living room. he walked around and crawled onto the couch. karl thought that was his cue to say something about different sleeping quarters.

"i have spare bed you know."

"s'ok. i like it here."

karl turned off his phone and looked at the raven. his eyes were half-lidded and about to close, they were staring right back at him. his brain threatening to turn off at any second.

karl blinked. karl's eyes were now starting to water without the screen keeping sleep at bay. he had a bed to himself too.

he started to climb off the couch. but before he could even move a slow hand reached out to him and held onto his knee. the touch felt akin to a blaze that quickly simmered down as sapnap spoke.

"no, stay here." sapnap commanded. well, he whispered this with his eyes closed. almost like he was speaking in his sleep.

karl didn't question it, sure his back would hurt but it doesn't really matter to him. he simply studied the worn-out flame of a person silently falling into sleep. karl tossed his phone down. he could charge it in the morning.

he snuggled into the couch, ignoring the hand still on his knee. it was now a welcomed jester. he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, which was easy. he felt his brain finally let itself sink into the wave of sleep it so desperately needed.

but magma waves came instead because sapnap had moved and begone to shove karl's leg apart. he was baffled, and a hand almost flew and hit sapnap before he could let out a verbal response. but sapnap crawled up between his legs and slumped his head right on karl's chest.

they fit together like a puzzle, like two pieces that were in the wrong spot. but they fit nonetheless. but either sapnap knocked the air out of karl, or karl lost his breath. the hand karl almost hit sapnap with flew to his face to cover his eyes. shielding himself from invisible embarrassment. 

the same burning feeling building in his chest that he had felt when sapnap touched him. this was weirdly intimate, it burned but in the good kind of way.

sapnap snaked his arms to the sides of karl and he giggled lightly. the burning feeling spread once again.

"i'm a blanket," he whispered before seemingly passing out.

karl felt himself smile, and slowly lowered his hand from his eyes. they were now dry, and ready for bed. for real this time. he let his arm fall limp over the side of the couch. 

the sleep waves didn't come crashing down on him. it was more like the soft kind of rain that came during the spring right before summer. the pitter-patter of the rain matching every little breath sapnap took. this was a feeling he wouldn't remember, but it would be one he'd chase after.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hangovers aren't fun unless you have someone to share them with karl learned.

the burr of the air conditioning started in the apartment, as it always did in a timely manner.

not long after the sound of karl's basic apple alarm went off. the phone buzzing and the sound of it being muffled after being neglected on the carpet.

it's what startled karl awake. the apartment was still dim, but you could tell it was around mid-day. because a little sunlight leaked from the blinds.

thankfully, karl had arms long enough to hit the stop button. barely though, but as it stopped buzzing he felt himself relax and close his eyes once more. and fall right back into half-sleep. 

it took karl a second to really wake back up. and when he did, he finally looked down at the stranger in his arms, still the same raven hair he remembered. they were still laying on his midriff which was surprising to karl. sapnap was his name. hopefully, he recalled correctly.

in fact, it hurt to remember his head had a strong stinging feeling especially on the right side of his head. which had started to bug him more than anything. nothing a shower and some medicine can’t fix though. well, he hoped so.

he remembered he's still got the stranger with a touch of fire cuddled up against him. his heart started to pound louder the more his eyes fixated on him. his own pulse had started to become an annoyance in his head.

in fact, he really wanted to get up and get medicine. but it would wake the stranger up. with the state he was in last night, he would do worse off than karl right now.

karl took a deep breath, to slow his heart rate and try to think of something to get himself out of this predicament.

but sadly, the breath of air was his downfall for the long movement woke the sleeping boy on his chest. within five seconds of being awake, he groaned in pain. it made karl want to cover his own ears.

the sun that had come through his blinds had begun to annoy him too. but he was still comfortable with the person still laying on him, although sapnap wouldn't stop moving. it took a second to figure he probably wasn't the best place to sleep or nap on when you had a hangover. 

karl rubbed his head, to seemingly soothe his headache before tapping sapnap on the head. the raven took a second before making a small noise of what karl thought was acknowledgment.

"hey, I've got a bed if you need to lay somewhere else," karl said in a hushed tone in an attempt to preserve whatever mellow setting they had right now.  
sapnap made a small noise.

"sorry." he said in a raspy voice, karl made a note to get him some water. he sounded like he had been stuck in a desert without water.

sapnap crawled off of karl, along with all his warmth too, and stumbling before catching himself. karl reached out only to pull his hand back and sit up himself. he watched the raven slowly find his way to karl’s room. his feet dragging on the tile this time.

karl looked down as black dots filled his vision, his brain not being ready to sit up. his felt like it was filled with acid as the black dots turned from color to color until he could see clearly.  
water.

was the only thing on his mind as he wiped the sleep from his eye and carried on with the day. he stood up and headed to the kitchen.  
he stepped barefoot on the freezing tile, the feeling shooting up his legs.

_his head spun as he was taken back to the party. the same black dots now flashing with colors. he saw sapnap in the kitchen smiling as his head burned. sapnap wasn't under the influence but he was he felt. and the music was still going as he sweat standing there in someone’s kitchen filled with beer. he was so hot which was a stark contrast to his feet and legs. the music getting too loud and his body felt like jello, ice, and fire at the same time. he looked at sapnap for something, anything. the raven only smiled and mouthed something he couldn't read. the color of the kitchen started to change. the dots appearing again. not because of the party lights, because he had started to fall. the music became muffled and only a memory._

_sapnap only watched as he fell through the tile, his hands felt like rocks and weighed him down.like he was growing in the ocean. he was no longer hot; the father fell, it got colder. his head was mixing falling with the fragmented memories of the night. it consumed his waking thoughts. the elevator, the hall, people, the red cups._

_and his head, oh god it hurt._

his body didn't feel like his own, and he was back in his kitchen where it was still fairly dark minus the sunlight still peeking through the windows. the dots were gone.

karl blinked before he realized he was in fact back. the kitchen was clean and only had a few cups he hadn't bother to wash. tears of pain pricked at his burning eyes. just a second ago his head hurt so bad he wanted to lay down and cry. the two tears fell before he rubbed them away and got water bottles from the fridge. to hit him with a cool air which momentarily brought himself to his senses.  
he quickly put one of the ice-cold water while chugging the other. it helped before his throat dried out again. he took another second to process everything. he leaned against the counter watching his apartment even though it was still. he blinked more. his coordination had gotten better and his head still hurt but he wasn't seeing dots anymore. _how did that even happen?_

he glanced up at his cabinet with a small scratch on it. it came from when him and his old roommate hit it while playing around. it was also the one where he kept medication and special cups. he pushed himself off the counter and opened the cabinet.

the corners were a bit dusty the further you looked into it, but that was not his concern right now. he scanned the shelves for the hangover relief his friend bought as a gag gift. it was a strange one, but at least it was useful.

he shoved some bandaids out the way before seeing the blue and white box. he grabbed it and peeked inside, there seemed to be quite a few left. enough to share. he walked back to the counter with a bit of pep knowing his head wouldn't hurt as much soon.

he opened the small tablets and took two with the cold water. before taking two more with the water bottle and headed out of the kitchen. he glanced around his apartment once more. he flicked on the lights before tiptoeing to his room as to not make as much noise on the tile.

he made it the door to his room, which he had made a little note marking his room as karl’s it read, ‘stay out nimrods.' he had half a mind to make a joke about that later. 

he opened the door, it didn't squeak but he used too much force and almost stumbled into the room. 

there lied a probably still loopy sapnap. he was only halfway on the bed, his feet hanging off. his body was curled as he laid on his side. it almost made karl laugh out loud. he looked like a house pet who was only allowed at the end of the bed. although at least he looked at peace in that position. 

karl continued to stare at the stranger idly, his face broke out into a small soft smile. he couldn’t quite put his finger on what he was thinking or what he was even doing. before the moment was over. he hesitantly continued to tip-top over to the end of the bed like goof, before tapping sapnap on the shoulder. 

sapnap only made a small noise, and karl noticed his breathing only fathered for a second. before returning to their previous state of rest. 

karl sighed before placing back the water in his hand, and then back at sapnap. he didn't want to be rude, but he needed sapnap to be able to take the medicine. he doesn't want anyone to go through what he just did. 

he yawns and rolls his shoulders back before. leaning down and tugging a bit at the covers lightly under sapnap. he hears another groan from sapnap. karl winces and stops tugging on the covers.  
"hey, i know your head hurts but- i got something for that." there was only silence.

"can you sit up or does it hurt too much?" karl hoped by being gentler he could get the task done faster. 

sapnap did sit up after a second passed, karl backed up. he looked directly at sapnap who had looked the same he did last night, just he wasn't completely wasted. his eyes were half-lidded and looked watery rather than bloodshot. 

karl opened the bottle and handed sapnap the medicine and bottle. it seemed sapnap's motor skills were intact as he took the medicine. but karl was looking away politely.  
"sorry." sapnap said in a dull voice.

karl neck snapped back to sapnap in surprise. karl didn’t expect him to talk back. he looks like he’s in a lot of pain.

"no, no. it's alright really! i just..didn’t want anything to happen." karl said truthfully. 

"but you literally don't know me...?" sapnap said as he quirked an eyebrow. 

karl didn’t know his face had morphed into a nervous one, as thoughts raced with regret. he wouldn't be having to go through this conversation if he had just ignored him in the first place.

"no, you're right i don't. i mean other than- i think we have a class together?" karl lied through his teeth. he knew if sapnap and him were familiar with each other he would know karl’s lying. 

"oh really?" sapnap said rubbing his eyes. karl nodded quickly. whew.

sapnap shrugged and took another sip of water.

"thank you then. sorry again." sapnap rubbed his temples. 

to say karl felt extremely awkward was an understatement at the moment. he gazed around the room he’d seen a thousand times before. racking his brain for his conversational skills, but sadly he couldn't think of a thing. 

"hate to ask but do you have any quick food?" sapnap looked at him, seeming more awake. 

karls eyes looked back at him and he waved his arms as he spoke, "yeah I've got a couple of things, or i could cook." 

sapnap nodded and stood up the bed creaked. karl lead the way to the kitchen and directing sapnap to the barstool. he sat down groggily. karl walked into the kitchen, the same cold feeling running up his feet. but this time around he was used to it. 

he watched sapnap lay his head in his arms, as he danced around the kitchen. 

"is there anything you'd like?" karl asked as his eyes scanned the cabinets. 

"something..chewy?" sapnap said, it came out in a mumble as his head was still positions in his arms.'

_‘all food is chewy, nimrod.’_ he thought but decided against the comment because it was obvious sapnap still wasn’t all there. karl felt himself crack a smile as he reached for salt and pepper before he grabbed eggs from the fridge he set up a place to make eggs. 

"do you like your eggs fried?" karl glanced at sapnap.

sapnap finally lifted his eyes and blinked a bit more. he nodded. "thank you, sorry again." 

karl hummed, it seemed they would be in a forever cycle of no problems, thank you, and sorry's for this morning. at least karl didn't feel so lonely on the weekend for once. even if the other preoccupied space, he wasn't the first choice for a sleepover buddy.

technically, if anything sapnap probably shouldn't have come with him. he could have kidnapped him and sold his kidneys or something as chile as that sounds. although karl knew he would never do that. he waved away the thought as he cracked the first egg. 

sapnap hopped off the barstool, karl quickly whipped his head to watch sapnap go towards karl's room. he looked back at the eggs before shrugging and continuing with the task at hand.  
the footsteps and the sound of sapnap jumping back into the stool, and the sizzle of the eggs filled the room.

karl kept his eyes fixated on the yellow yolk of the two eggs. his head racking his memory of the imagery he saw this morning. along the weird hallucinating. maybe he had dreamt it all. he couldn't be too sure. his mother always told him he had crazy dreams and an even crazier imagination. 

"hey, what's your major?"

karl removed his eyes from the yolk. and glanced over at sapnap, he knew he had a sort of surprised look on his face, he didn't know sapnap would make small talk. 

"uh, film. as in film production. actually. besides that, I write in the rest of my classes. or something along those lines." karl said looking back and seasoning the eggs.

"I got in a scholarship on football-" sapnap leaned back and stretched. "i’m majoring in engineering. only mechanical though."

"is it hard? like are you stressed?" karl said taking plates out, with the loaf of bread he had. 

"sometimes, when i miss class stuff because I'm too tired from practice it sort of..builds up," he said leaning back down and grabbing his phone. karl assumed that's why he went back to his room. "what about you?"

"not really, i'm doing what i love so i might be biased. although- get weird looks when i try and record. one time i almost got in trouble for filming on campus after hours. i have never run faster in my life." karl smiled as he put the two pieces of bread in the toaster. 

he watched sapnap smile, as scrolled through his phone. "one time me and my friend got in trouble for tp-ing the stands on the field, it was the dead of night too." sapnap smiled, even more putting his phone down and sweeping his hair back. "we were gonna burn something, but someone called the police. i could barely keep up with my friend as we ran back." 

karl let out a bubbly laugh as the toasted popped up, not too burnt this time. it was fun imagining sapnap running from a cop car in the dead of night in the dark. he grabbed the butter from the fridge and placed it on both of the pieces of the toast. he then put both of them on plates and walked over to the counter with forks for the eggs. 

"were you ever caught? y'know for tp-ing the football stands." karl said leaning on the opposite of the counter, avoiding eye contact. 

"nope, we ran too fast. although i did get a nasty scratch when i slipped at one point." sapnap turned off his phone. 

karl nodded, still with a small grin on his face. he flipped his egg on his toast, because that's how he preferred his egg. then he cut into it and took a bite of the egg on the toast. 

"oh my god, you're so smart." sapnap said, karl looked at him. sapnap was only watching him with pure investment. 

karl titled his head to the side and gave a quizzical look as he chewed his bite. 

"you put the egg on the toast, that’s so smart." sapnap quickly broke eye contact as he struggled to place his egg on the piece of toast, mimicking karl.

karl swallowed and laughed a bit, unable to give an answer. his face turning a little bit more red than usual. it wasn’t often he got called smart.

sapnap seemed to taste his eggs and toast and gave a dramatic reaction. he threw his head back and hummed. 

"it's good right?" karl asked, staring a little too long at sapnap before turning back to his breakfast. 

"hella good." sapnap replied simply before continuing to dig in.

* * *

sapnap's phone rung as karl washed his dish in the hot sink. 

"oh, my roommate is calling." he heard sapnap pick up his phone and answer.

strangely enough, sapnap didn't make an effort to make this conversation private. karl thought this was careless, or sapnap just didn't care. so he tried to tune out the conversation by scrubbing the non-existent gunk on his plate. 

"no, i'm at..a friend's." there was a pause. "yeah yeah, is george there too? i'll be over in a bit." 

karl heard the sound of him hanging up, he set the dish in the dishwasher and moved back to the counter. "are you leaving soon?" karl asked, his voice a little lower than before. 

sapnap nodded. "yeah, I've got a mini practice to go apparently." sapnap seemed annoyed. he sat up. tried to take his plate, probably to clean it for karl out of politeness. but karl stopped him and took the plate back for him. he appreciated the jest though. 

karl started the sink once again, he took in a breath. he knew he shouldn't be too disappointed about this, but he was. he obviously didn't share a class with him, so when else will he get to see him? curse him for getting attached.

"well, if you ever need somewhere to stay...you're allowed to come over anytime actually." karl couldn't look at him when he said this, he was too awkward. and once again he’d probably regret this too.  
"that's...really nice of you. i live in 505, in the other complex somewhere near here actually," he said taking his phone and moving towards the door. 

"just tell me when you're stopping by," karl said shutting off the sink and putting the plate away.

sapnap laughed. “i can't, my phones broken." 

karl looked over at him, with a concerned, but mostly confused face. "wait- what? why?" 

"'cause your number isn't in it." sapnap busted out into laughter after he said his devastating line. 

karl, thought for a moment. before he finally got it.

_oh._

and his face bloomed red, he giggled and covered his mouth. mostly in embarrassment.

'you're a nimrod- oh my god." karl laughed as he left the kitchen, the carpet in his living room was a lot warmer than the tile. he picked up his phone from the floor where he had discarded it last night.  
sapnap had calmed down as karl read his number out to him. 

then with the shut of karls dorm, he was all alone again, it must have been mid-day by now. 

he took a deep breath, he was now alone once again in his personal space. 

he looked at his phone, no new texts yet. he walked back to his room, the bed was still a little messed at. it probably smelled like sapnap. 

_what the honk-?_

karl tossed his phone at the end of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. he quickly moved to sit at his desk and booted up his computer, waiting impatiently whilst trying to ignore the thought he just had.

his computer booted up a few seconds later. instantly he was bombarded by graded assignments and email notifications.  
he sighed and rubbed his eyes as he started the long process of doing work.

* * *

_1:30 am  
'no new messages' _

he turned off his phone and looked at the pizza that had gone somewhat stale, he wasn't hungry in the first place. he tossed it away before going back to his bedroom.  
he had finished missing assignments and things and even applied for a job. he was surprisingly productive today. placing digits in on the computer for hours. probably because he was on edge, waiting on a singular message from sapnap. but maybe he shouldn't have been, considering the weekend is for relaxing, but he couldn't help but mope a bit. 

he pulled back his curtains. the sky was dark blue, with pearl-gray clouds; it was a stark contrast to how good it looked this morning though.  
"it's about to rain," he said to himself, staring out at the parking lot and the rest of the apartments. some of the lights and curtains were on or opened, but he stopped looking at them, so he wouldn't be considered a creep. 

instead, he looked back up at the sky. and it almost looked like it was raining. he quickly opened his window after unlocking it and held out his hand, and he was right. it had started to sprinkle although the water was bitterly cold. he felt a heavier drop fall from the window sill from the apartment above him.

he shut his window and pondered.

karl made a decision at that moment and was stuck with a creative spur. in a blur, he changed out of his hoodie and into a sweater and tugged on some jeans. 

he grabbed his camera bag and phone and threw on some sandals and socks, he could care less about the fashion curse right now. he locked his door and walked to the elevator.

he looked at himself through the blurry stainless steel of the elevator, his mind going back to last night. he fixed his hair, it was sort of a brown blob in the reflection. he watched another one appear behind him, he blinked and saw sapnap. 

he turned around his heart stopped.

_no one was there. oh._

but at least he was on his floor. he blinked a couple of times and walked out of the elevator. figured he was just imagining things, it happened often when he was sleep-deprived. it didn't shake him up as much as it did this morning. 

he walked into the lobby, and noticed nobody in there, probably because it was one am. he still tried to be silent. 

the vibes were no longer welcoming as a lobby should be, but sort of eerie, especially because the lobby had a yellowish palette that karl had hated ever since he showed up. most of the led lights were off too, he got backroom vibes. '

he pushed back the cold metal bars of the front doors as quietly as possible. once the door was open he was met with the chilly night, it was getting towards the end of fall anyway. he was finally able to wear all of his favorite sweaters now at least, although he preferred spring because of its all over positive vibes.

the street lights that lined the area made it have a lot more strange vibes in the yellow light. and there were a few that were blinking holding onto the last life of their bulbs. 

he stepped out onto the sidewalk and felt the rain all over where his skin was exposed. it was almost comforting. he smiled when it reminded him of a plant being sprayed with mist. it even smelled of rain. he took a deep breath as he walked his first few steps out of the building.

but the further he walked out, the more his clothes started to form a damp grip. he didn't notice too much though. he was busy looking for puddles. and good places for taking other random pictures.  
he found the perfect one, right by a street lamp. the lighting was perfect and it would give off a nostalgic feeling he was sure once he took the picture. he could use it for extra credit. maybe he could give one to sapnap. but what would he even do with it? 

he quickly took out his camera. and adjusted the lens, the rain continued to fall. he had stopped focusing it a while ago. he hadn't noticed how much it had picked up.  
he took a shot from the eye level of the puddle. and then took a couple more, his brain-numbing with each shot. 

it wasn't until the sky flashed with light that karl had noticed it began to really rain. he acknowledged he could get sick from this, but the circumstances of the situation had him on a sudden giddy high. he hadn't felt like this since he used to sneak out last year. college really had affected a good amount of his social life. but right now he felt free, he almost wanted to dance in the rain.  
he felt a sense of ecstasy as he finished taking pictures. the sky now flashing more and more often by each minute that passed. 

he turned around and watched the skylight like a spark before it went dark again, drops falling in his eyes every few seconds. he glanced at all the cars parked, and the puddles forming in the dents of the pavement. 

the several drops on the car's windows glowed yellow reflecting the light of the street lamps. he could hear the drops hitting the roofs distinctly. and if he focused hard enough he could see the individual raindrops fall and race down with gravity. 

it wasn't until the sky cracked back echoing throughout the complex did he realize the gravity of the situation. he was slightly shaking, cold, and wet. yet his feet stayed planted on the sidewalk as the puddle behind him started to grow as the rain fell. 

his hair started to stick to his head, the rain being the adhesive for his clothes to stick to him as well now. the sky thundered as a warning. his heart raced, he didn't feel so free anymore. he really needed to get inside. the rain was no longer comforting. 

karl packed up his camera and threw it back over his shoulder. he quickly stepped up on the sidewalk, stepping right into a puddle soaking his socks and sandals. he frowned, his thoughts moving slowly before deciding to kick off his sandals and socks both were soaked anyway. he picked them up and began to walk with them in his arms.  
he walked quickly, his feet tapping against the cold concrete. at first, it hurt but soon turned into a light tingle sensation the closer he got to the entrance of his building. 

the sky cracked again, this time he was sure there was lighting right behind him. although that wasn't true and he knew it, simply the adrenaline talking. he had become aware of how uncomfortable his clothes had become, with exhaustion riding hot on his tail. 

he shoved back through the metal polls of the doors and finally felt his feet again once he stepped into the lobby. still empty. he still tried to stifle any noise he made. the carpet getting a little wet with each step he took.

he quickly made it back to the elevator, his only thoughts were him hoping nobody else would see him soaked and dragging water through the apartments. he started to leave little water drops that stuck to the elevator and reflected back to it.

he watched the doors open and quickly raced to his room, fumbling with his key momentarily. finally unlocking the door and shutting softly behind him. 

he dragged his soaking shirt and back against the pine door as the fleeting adrenaline allows him to hear his own heartbeat. he let his thoughts settle, as the sound of his heart faded out of his ears.  
he opened his eyes once again, this time they were heavy. he knew he needed to practice basic self-care and change. he stood back up slowly and locked his door, then walked back to his bedroom. on the way he flicked the heater on.

his body felt like a hunk of slushy ice, as he tossed his phone on his bed and set his camera on his desk. he was excited about the pictures and trying to ignore how cold he really was.  
he stripped off the wet clothes and put on another hoodie and sweats. and tossed his sandals near his shoe stand, he could worry about it in the morning. in fact, he could worry about his wet clothes in the morning too. he needed to do laundry anyway. the consequences of his spontaneous actions could wait until then.

he finally turned to his bed, finally noticing that his phone was buzzing with the sound of his honk notification. it had gone off a few times by now like he was being spammed. he turned off the lights and shut the curtains before investigating. 

the hum of the heater kicking on filled the silence as karl crawled into bed. it creaked for a second before he buried himself under several blankets and got comfortable. looking at his phone that had stopped buzzing awhile ago. he turned on his phone.  
the bright light made his eyes water, he quickly turned down the brightness once his eyes cleared up and his eyelids felt like dead weight again. 

_2:15 am  
'6 new messages from unknown number'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> special thanks to khrusopoiia for the beta i am still learning the site and they have been the biggest help :) go check them out!!


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> karl will no longer be a broke collage student

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there still might be mistakes but i will be editing them in the morning just wanted to get this chapter out a little early :)

karl huffed as cold air blew into his eyes as they started watering. wind whispered in his ears, effectively freezing them off.

he pulled his sweater sleeves over his hands as he continued to speed walk across campus, past other suffering students.

it was a cold wednesday as he walked away from the last class of his day, he felt relief. he only had half of the week left. he liked to keep a positive outlook on school, even if it killed him.

he looked at the sky, it was a light grey. it had quickly gone from fall to winter in the course of a few days. he watched the rest of the leaves actually fall and leave the campus trees barren and depressing.  
he continued to walk along with the neatly patterned brick further from the campus center. he noticed others were wearing coats and jackets and he felt the slightest envy. but others were freezing as well, probably because they were also unprepared for the shift from fall to winter.

as he rounded the corner to the front of his apartments, a buzz in his back pocket had alerted him of a phone call. he maneuvered his backpack off to reach his phone and pulled out his phone just as his ringtone began to play. it was one of the beginnings of his favorite high school musical song.

_incoming call...  
from sappynap :D_

he didn't think twice before swiping the answer call button, the call took a few seconds to go through as he got closer to his building.

he remembers how suddenly sapnap had begun to start texting him often after that night. karl would consider them friends of sorts. but strangely enough, sapnap had never called him directly. nonetheless, karl didn't mind it all. he did miss his voice though.

the call finally went through, karl blinked a few times before putting it up to his ear.

"hello?" karl said, making sure he could be heard.

"'sup daddy!" sapnap had yelled into his mic.

karl had jumped and flinched so hard, ripping his phone away from his ear. he glanced around the lot. a woman had stared at him strangely.

karl coughed, and quickly put the phone back up to his ear.

"sapnap- what the _honk._ " karl whispered yelled as he walked into his building to avoid the women. he pushed the bars and sped walked through the lobby.

he heard sapnap leaned away from his mic to give a small snicker. before clearing his throat.

"hiya, how were your classes?" sapnap had asked casually.

karl skipped by the elevator and made a beeline towards the door to the stairs.

once he knew the door had shut behind him, he continued the conversation. "they were good- but why did you call? this lady gave me a weird look. when you shouted." karl stressed as he continued up the stairs.

sapnap laughed on the other end. "i dunno actually, i just sort of wanted to talk." he said truthfully.

karl huffed as he continued up the stairs, but he was delighted that he did decide to call.

"are you sure you're not procrastinating on homework?" karl asked.

"oh you know me so well jacobs." sapnap said, karl heard him lean back in what he assumed was his chair.

karl continued to try to speed run the stairs as he spoke, "yeah, okay. are you usually like this, or are you drunk again?" karl joked.

"im always like this, swag never stops and honesty is my best policy." sapnap paused, "and ew who drinks at like..two?" sapnap said disgust riddled his voice.

karl got to his floor and began to walk down his hall.  
"your mom probably does," karl said, he grinned. a smile was evident in his voice.

"oh wow-, so creative karl. you act like i don't rail your mom." karl pulled out his keys and rolled his eyes playfully.

"that would make you my step-dad," karl said as he walked into his apartment and kicked off his shoes.

sapnap giggled. "that's no way to speak to your step-daddy."

there was silence on the other line.

until karl had exploded with laughter. sapnap chuckled along on the other end.

karl jumped on the couch and tossed his bags aside. he slouched onto the cushions. "so what have you been up to?"

sapnap hums. "nothin' been thinkin' about getting a job though." karl hears the clicks of the keyboard as sapnap spoke.

"i applied for one the other day actually, i dunno if i'll make it in or not. i'm not super good at having conversations with strangers. people aren't nice when you don't have their morning coffee ready too." karl said, letting his self-conscious thoughts slip into his speech.

"i think you're good with people, as in like your patient. especially with me." sapnap says, the keyboard stopped momentarily.

karl felt his chest swell with the compliment. he sucked in the air quickly before replying. "you're just saying that to make me feel better-" karl paused and let himself exhale. "nimrod."

sapnap chuckled as the typing continued. "didn't i say earlier that i'm honest?"

"actually your exact words were, ' i am a liar, don't listen to me jacobs.'" karl smiled as he spoke.

"not to surprise you or anything, but i don't think i said that." sapnap hummed.

karl let out a bubbly laugh. "well my mom told me to never listen to guys with the nickname sapnap so..." 

the keyboard typing stopped, karl assumed sapnap was thinking of a rebuttal. "good thing my actual nickname is pandas."

karl gasped, and let out an exaggerated aw. "that's so cute sapnap!" karl said in a baby voice. he covered his mouth with his sweater to giggle. 

"shut up karl jaocbs." sapnap replied in a higher-pitched baby voice.

"okay sap-nappy." karl said in an even higher voice.

"karly jacobs." sapnap bantered back.

karl giggled, and rolled his eyes.

there was a short pause in the call.

"it was given to me by my mom when i was younger, somewhere in my angsty teen years i changed it to sapnap." sapnap explained.

"neat, i've never really had a nickname other than karlos." karl moved to a more comfortable position on the couch.

"i'll give you one, let me think of somethin' good." sapnap began to type on his keyboard again. probably googling something.  
he waited until he heard sapnap begin to chuckle before he started to laugh extremely loud into the mic.

"sapnap- are you okay?" karl asked, not really concerned.

"one of the-" sapnap continued to laugh. he tried to speak but his laughter kept breaking up his speech. "karlocuhe-" was all he got out.

karl couldn't hide his amusement and let out a snicker at that. "it's not that funny. and don't call me that." karl brushed his hair again.

sapnap had clammed down. "alright jacobs i won't, i won't." he repeated, karl could practically hear him beaming on the other side of the phone. "google isn't the best place to find nicknames anyway."

karl was about to start another topic when he heard a door open, he checked his door before realizing it came from sapnap.

"i've gotta go, my roommates here." sapnap was heard getting out of his chair. sapnap made a little mwah sound into his mic, then promptly hanging up.

karl didn't get to say goodbye, but he didn't mind. he covered his face as he smiled, dwelling on the laughter he had just shared.

karl placed his phone down and leaned back. he stared at his blank ceiling, a ceramic white color. he almost painted it pink because he heard that pink was a calming color apparently. he had decided against it.

he looked back down at his hands. his head felt like it was slowly overheating like his laptop would do. if he closed his eyes he could remember the exact words of sapnap as they scorched a memory in his mind.

it like was the warmth of the summer, the hazy feeling you have when you sit outside when the sunsets. the blistering heat of the day over with, and the cool night about to set in. karl could imagine himself sitting on his childhood home's porch enjoying it all. then he imagined sapnap right next to him. the boy who spoke flames and his touch was like fire itself. but at the same time, he was the mellow feeling on summer nights that made karl feel at ease.

and it was winter, the season when he needed warmth the most.

it was being provided by sapnap. through their small texts, and the small interactions. he had never felt this close to someone without actually being close. it was so sudden and he had never met anyone he simply felt attached to over the course of a few days.

as much as he wanted to figure out the spark he had with sapnap, he didn't sign up for a psychology major. it wasn't a bad thing necessarily. it was just a feeling in his stomach that would rise like a volcano and spill out with overwhelming happiness. then the magma would cool and he'd feel just as happy. maybe he was just excited to have a new friend.

his phone buzzed twice and snapped him out of his overthinking. 

he had gotten an email from the job place he had applied to and his heart skipped several beats.  
the other was from sapnap. he checked that one first.

_'hey do you want to meet my roommates? like dis weekend or somethin.’_

karl reread that message.it was almost as surprising as the job offer. he leaped up, did he really want to meet them? he wasn't sure he'd hit it off as he did with sapnap. but his friend circle would expand more. he couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. 

he ran a hand through his hair again. he can't focus on that when he's got to get ready to do an interview.

_'meow'_

he quickly texted back before going to go get stuff together.

* * *

karl walked down the cobble, it was four pm. he had picked out some nice clothes, but not too professional. he was signing up to be a barista for crying out loud. he was surprised they'd let him do an interview the same day they accepted him too. 

he rounded the corner of all the small shops that were just off campus, he didn't usually come by here since really only the art majors and locals hung out here.

there was a bright orange sign with the coffee shop's name plastered across it, karl had heard of it before since one of his friends knew a guy who worked there.

the sigh read, "seepy inc." it was probably a play on words considering it was a coffee shop.

he shook his nerves away or tried to. he stepped into the shop, scanning the area. he saw only two people there, and a person at the counter. he walked up there.

the boy had dark brown hair, most of it covered by a beanie. the most charming smile painted his face. he was hired probably because he was fairly handsome. he almost looked younger than karl himself, or it might have the yellow light of the cafe shining on him.

"hello, how may i help you?" he smiled brightly.

karl fiddled with his fingers as his chest felt like it sank, and then swayed. it was almost like he was seasick. "I'm here for the job interview."   
he tried to be as assertive as possible.

the guys simply lit up before smiling again. "right, i'll lead the way." the guys opened the little separation door to the counter where workers entered and exited. 

he motioned to karl to come through, which karl didn't notice at first. he realized and quickly followed along to the office, trying his best to not act too fidgety.

"i'm wilbur, by the way." wilbur said as he led karl through the back of the small kitchen. it was kind of cozy.

karl saw a grey door that said 'office' up ahead. "i'm karl." he said jumping back into the conversation.

"neat name, but is it spelled with a, c or k?" wilbur asked the closer they got to the door.

"it starts with a k." karl smiled a bit as they stopped by the door.

"well good luck karl with a k." wilbur said as he opened the door for karl.

karl gave him a look of gratitude as he stepped in, the door shutting behind him.

the office was very neat with the same lighting as the main area. the only thing karl didn't like was the purple file cabinets, one of them had 'shulker box' written on it.

he saw the guy he assumed owned the place.

"hello, I'm phil. if you could just take a seat i'll be ready in a second."

karl moved to sit down in the chair across from the desk nerves found there way into his head as his chest felt seasick again. bobbing up and down like a boat rocking the sea. he shuffled into the seat.  
the dude that supposedly owned the place finally peeked from his computer and finished typing.

he had blond hair and a green long-sleeved shirt. he looked around like he was in his late 20s karl would assume. but he had the kindest smile.

"right you're here for the interview aren't you mate?"

karl nodded.

"right then." he glanced back at the computer and typed away.

karl continued to fidget as the waves crashed backed and forth the more nervous he felt.

"right, so you're okay with any night shifts correct?" phil looked back at him with a smile.

karl nodded once again. "i don't have any night classes, i could also take morning shifts on the weekend."

"right. do you have any previous experience working?" phil asked.

karl shook his head in a no. "i know how to make basic things though. coffee wise." 

phil nodded and gave a seemingly encouraging smile. "that's alright. i'm assuming you know how to clean basic things too, right?"

karl felt like he was almost drowning in his own sea of worries. he kept a smile plastered on his face though. "yeah, i do." 

after a few more run of the will questions, it was coming to a close.

phil hummed as he clicked away a few times. "finally, why do you want to work here?"

karl stiffened. "because i like the smell of coffee. i'm pretty good at multitasking" karl said honestly. he didn't want to mention that he was a broke college student. he didn't wanna go down the desperate road. 

"well, you're hired."

_wait._

_what._

"wait really?"

"yep, i think you'll fit in just fine. you'll balance most of the chaos out." phil gave him a smile so genuine he wanted to cry. he chose to ignore the whole chaos comment.

the waves in his chest had slowed to ones that wash against the beach in a tranquil fashion. he slowly stood up out of the chair a giddy smile playing on his lips.

"thank you..uh..phil."

"no problem, you start next monday, and i'll email your schedule."

karl left the room as he felt like he was walking on air. he waved to wilbur as he exited, his soon to be coworker.

* * *

as soon as he made it back to his apartment he texted his mom, and started on a celebratory dinner. he decided on spaghetti because it was the easiest. he pulled out all supplies. he stumbled when he almost dropped his decent-sized pot. 

he was boiling the water when his phone began to buzz on the other counter. 

he glanced over and walking over to check who was calling. he suspected it was his mom. 

karl moved over and swiped the answer button without a second thought putting it on speaker before moving back to the boiling pot. 

"hello?" sapnap's voice echos a bit on speaker. 

karl snapped his head around. he quickly cleared his throat. not who he was expected, but he didn't mind it. "hey nimrod." 

sapnap laughed lightly on the other end. "hey karl." 

karl opened the box of noodles, he crunched on one of the stale ones like a child. "what's up?" 

"i was wondering if you did actually want to meet my roommates." sapnap said, his voice cracking for a second. "the reply earlier wasn't really an answer." sapnap snickered.

karl stirred the noodles. the same seasick feeling came back to him. karl stirred the noodles a bit faster, he started to notice how his kitchen title had grown cold again. for some reason the mention of this brought panic. 

his voice caught in his throat, he cleared it. sure he likes sapnap, but if his roommates didn't like him- well the sapnap would start to hate him. and then he'd be all alone again. just like he was at the party. 

"karl?" sapnap's voice echoed through the kitchen again. 

karl jumped as the voice rang in his ears again. splashing some boiling water around, yelping as some of it seared his arm. 

he quickly ran over to the sink to run cold water on it. 

"karl- are you okay?" concern etched into sapnap's voice. 

the seasick feeling rose in his chest. the harsh waves that felt like the ocean clattered in his stomach. the salt was almost revolting, karl wanted to throw up. he was worried it would be seawater.   
karl swallowed as the burning subsided. "yeah, yeah. i'm okay. i just got boiling water on my arm actually." he stated as he finally shut off the sink. he stepped back and trying to keep his hands from jittering. he mentally face palmed because the whole thing sounded like an awkward statement.

"are you cooking?" sapnap asked in a more casual tone. 

"yeah um- i'm celebrating getting a job actually. i chose spaghetti to eat. my mom taught me how to make it when i was little." karl rambled to tried to get rid of the feeling of the ocean waves. 

"wait you got the job- let's goooo!!!" the phone crackled as sapnap screamed in excitement. it surprised karl, but he ended up cover his mouth as he giggled. 

"that's so dope. where are you working?" sapnap asked after he had stopped yelling. 

karl returned to the pot and grabbed a strainer. he turned off the stove. "at a cafe, i'm going to be a barista because i could never be a cashier. again, i don't have the people skills."   
carefully walking to the sink, karl started to strain the noodles. the seasick feeling being ignored as he focused on the task at hand. 

"what's it called? i want to get discounts on my coffee." you could hear sapnap's cheshire grin through the phone. it made karl smile.

"it's called sleepy inc. also i think they have a rule against giving dimwit's discounts," karl replied, taking a separate pot and placing the strained noodles in them. 

"good thing i'm not a dimwit." sapnap hummed.

karl laughed. he grabbed a can of tomato sauce and opened it with a can opener. and dumped it into a regular bowl before popping it into the microwave. "that sounds like something a nimrod would say."   
"really? 'cause according to many scientific studies, it seems like you're the nimrod." the phone made a small cracking noise, it was probably sapnap moving.

karl cleaned up a bit while waiting on the sauce. he thought of a rebuttal while he cleaned up.

the microwave went off and karl pulled out the bowl to stop the obnoxious beeping. "did you just insult me?" karl asked in an exaggerated voice as he dumped the sauce on top of the noodles.

"what? how dare you. i have never heard such bullshit come out of the karl jacobs mouth." sapnap said, in an obvious joking tone. 

karl pulled out a plate and fork. he started to fix himself a plate. "i'm gonna tell my mother on you." karl said plainly, holding back the dumbest grin. 

"that's no way to talk to your step-dad." sapnap started to laugh on the other end. 

karl rolled his eyes, letting himself smiled as he placed his plate on the same counter as his phone. "not this again," karl giggled as he got a water bottle. he didn't like having tap water.

"i'm gonna ground you." the empty threat followed by another laugh from sapnaps end. 

karl crawled into a bar stool and started on his food. glancing at his kitchen and mentally sighing knowing he'd have to clean it. he chewed a bite before continuing. "i'm still going to call my mom." 

"oh boohoo jacobs. what is gonna do? divorce me?" karl noticed he'd been on the phone for around thirty-five minutes. 

"yeah." karl said simply before taking another bite. 

sapnap gave the fakest sigh on the other end. "i need a new wife then." 

karl took a sip of water. "good luck, not many want to marry a nimrod." 

sapnap gave a huff. "ok karl, now i'm just being bullied." 

karl snickered. "you are? by who?" he asked innocently.

"by this guy, who's name started with a k, and ends with an l. he's got brown hair too." sapnap listed a few more things but karl was busy eating.

"sounds like you're describing my long lost twin actually." karl took another bite. 

sapnap chuckled. "that's crazy." 

karl hummed in a lazy agreement.

"well, i'm gonna get going. i've been procrastinating by talking to you," sapnap said finally. 

"inch-resting." karl said in long syllables. "talk to you later then pandas." karl took another sip of water. 

"mhm, buh-bye jacobs." sapnap said, before the end call sound blared for a second before karl's apartment fell back into silence.

* * *

karl laid in bed, his hair soaking the pillow after taking a shower. his mother had once told him that could get him a cold. he didn't care too much. sleep had snuck its way into his head. and karl was much too comfortable to try and get it out. 

his eyes danced across the phone screen as he watched a random youtube video about the behind the scenes of a b tier horror movie. he wasn't really listening to the guy talking, more of the set and camera they had. 

his phone buzzed as a message covered his phone screen. of course, it was from sapnap. his eyes blinked back the sleep for once. as he switched the messaging app. 

_'you never did reply btw did you want to meet my roommates?'_

his chest flooded with salt and water as his thumbs hovered over the keyboard. he typed out a no before deleting it aggressively. 

_'sure i don't mind' he did mind._

_'k this weekend sometime'_

karl sat up as the feeling of water and numbing his hands contained. the worry had washed out all of the sleep. 

_'sounds cool :D'_

_'yeah night night then jacobs :) don't let the bed bugs kiss you.'_

_'are you crazy? kissing is for the homies'_

_'goodnight though' ___

__karl quickly turned off his phone after he sent his last message._ _

__he ran a hand through his wet hair, catching as much air as possible. scenarios ran through his head as the waves crashed in his chest. the worried about what would happen in a few days. it was such a little thing to worry about._ _

__he took his blankets and pulled them over his body. it was an attempt to hide from the thoughts and get some shut-eye._ _

__he didn't get that much sleep that night though._ _


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> karl almost wastes a friday night moping, but weednap saves the day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there might be a few mistakes again i got excited and wanted to post early again:)  
> i also might edit this chapter a bit to better fit their characters

karl laid there watching the blades on his fans spin. he was overthinking again.

and ironically he was also ignoring an assignment or two he had due by the end of this week. he had got bored with his phone and socials a couple of minutes ago. it's hard to see your mutuals and friends have more fun than you on a friday night.

he missed his old friends from his hometown. they hadn't even bothered to contact him since he had moved. karl felt the itch to talk to them but. he knew if they hadn't texted him yet, they probably wouldn't talk again. it upset him quite a bit. but he didn't want to start any waterworks tonight, nor unpack that mess. so karl decided to overthink about other things.

like how he'd probably meet up with sapnaps roommates in the next 48 hours or so. something that he had pushed into the back of his head. they haven't even made plans. karl had sort of hoped that they wouldn't be meeting up after all. it sounded mean, but karl was just worried about it going wrong.

in fact, he and sapnap had yet to discuss anything. sure he and sapnap had texted and called a few times throughout the week but sapnap had yet to mention anything. karl was starting to notice how carefree or uncoordinated sapnap was. he didn't mind if he was either of those things though, it was just an observation he made.

whenever they talked, karl would ramble and sapnap would surprisingly listen. he'd mess around with karl sometimes too. karl did get nervous from time to time and would slip up his words. this usually happened when sapnap would throw in random compliments into the conversation like it was nothing.

now karl would wake up and check his phone multiple times while doing his morning routine for text messages from sapnap. a one-time sapnap texted him while he was in class. claiming to have seen him there. karl spent the whole hour looking for sapnap. he thought he had lied about sharing a class, maybe he had just never seen him. sapnap said he had lost karl in the crowd and they both had to go to other classes before they could meet again.

the bed covers were flung off karl as he sat up. not wanting another restless night of thinking. he grabbed his phone and headed to the living room.

he stood for a minute pondering what he could do before remembering he still had that netflix show he wanted to binge. it was a good way to waste a friday night.

now excited, karl ran around the apartment preparing things like blankets, popcorn, and drinks. and even lit a few scented candles. he sort of had an addiction to them.

he left the lights on, he was sort of scared of the darkness of the apartment when he wasn't about to go sleep. it was eerie and he always felt like he could hear every bump in the night.  
he fixed himself up and grabbed the remote and pulled up his account and scrolled through his list.

as soon as the classic netflix jingle sounded, his phone started to ring.   
karl paused and groaned. he guessed it was a scam caller. they always call at the worst times. one time he got one about a car he didn't own.  
he rolled his eyes thinking about it. karl reached for his phone on the other side of the couch.

he was surprised to see the person who was calling was sapnap. he quickly answered. the sound of call going through made karl feel a lot more awake. he briskly put the phone up to his ear.

"sapnap?" karl said, he felt like he was talking into the void

karl heard the background of music and a thumping noise through the phone. and then he heard the click of a door shutting, cutting off the background of music.

karl frowned for a second until he heard the familiar giggle of sapnap.

"sapnap what is going on? what are you doing nimrod?" karl asked in a gentle voice, trying to coax sapnap to answer.

there was another sound of something far off. then he heard sapnap snicker. there was a bit of an echo with this one. he sounded like he was resigning in the bathroom hiding out. "jacobs, i am so stoned." sapnap said simply.

karl blinked. " _what?_ "

sapnap wouldn't stop giggling for a second before answering. "i am stoned, _jacobs_." he repeated.

karl paused for a moment and glanced back at his tv. "yeah, and i'm watching netflix. what are you up too?"

"i'm taking a bath-" sapnap paused. "or we could netflix and chill!" he said suddenly excited.

"wait wait, where are you?" karl asked with concern.

"at a party, smells like shit." sapnap said not sounding too ecstatic anymore.

"sapnap do not take a bath there-" karl said sternly. he checked the time. "and maybe you should go home, it's elven."

he heard sapnap mumble something before speaking up again. "then when are we gonna netflix and chill?"

karl rubbed the back of his neck. "whenever you're going to come over."

"when do you want me to?" sapnap was heard opening the door of the bathroom again.

karl gripped a bit of his blanket. he stared into space for a second. "right now."

"alright see you soon karlll." sapnap dragged out as he hung up.

karl pulled his phone away and glanced at his phone. he was now worried. how far away was sapnap? and how could he trust him to make it here safely? 

he moved the popcorn bowl out of his lap and placed it on the coffee table as he got up.

he looked at his tv, the screen asking if you were still watching had come on. karl guessed he should start to get things together for sapnap. if he wasn't kidnapped by now.

he pulled out some extra clothes and tidied a few things here and there. he grabbed some water. karl believed that was good enough.

after mindless pacing around his apartment trying to think of things he pulled out his phone and started to message sapnap.

_'hey r u almost here??'_

_'my apartment is 143'_

_'there is 2 broken street lamps right outside of my complex btw'_

_'how far away r u?'_

karl reread his string of texts. sapnap hadn't read any of them yet, so now karl was a little bit more uneasy than before.

at first it was ten, twenty, then thirty minutes had passed and karl had never been so distressed about a singular person.  
he felt like a worried mother about their child who had been hours late to their curfew.

his candles have burned for a bit too long now, he goes to put them out. snuffing them. karl takes different ones and starts to light them for a distraction, but the problem is the fire reminds him of sapnap.

for a second he forgot about worrying and thought more about how he was finally going to see sapnap again, in person this time.   
not over the phone or text but rather he might get to experience the same spark he did the first time.

he jumped as the candle had finally heated up. the sound of the lighter hitting the floor frazzled him after dropping it for being to hot. karl picked it up and set it back next to the candles.

the knock on the pine door came through the apartment. it almost gave karl another heart attack. he was suddenly hyper-aware of his surroundings. 

he swiftly made his way to the door. praying to whatever god that watched over this green earth that sapnap was on the other side of that door.

he grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. and there he was, sapnap's clothes looked damp and there was a light smell of weed.   
although it sort of clashed with the previous scent that filled his apartment because of the candles.

sapnap brightened up once their eyes met and karl silently moved out the way to let him in.  
sapnap stepped in, his footing uncoordinated. he took off his shoes and set them next to karl's.

karl locked the door and turned back to face sapnap, who seemed to be studying his surroundings or he was zoning out.

karl cleared his throat. "i've got some water and some clothes for you." karl paused. sapnap turned to face him with a far off look in his eyes, with the blend of red seeping in.

"and you should probably get out of those, they look wet. you might catch something." karl finished. he assumed it might have been raining.  
karl hadn't even noticed, and now he felt extremely guilty.

"m'kay." sapnap nodded and took the sweater karl had laid out. he began to take off his shirt right in front of karl.

karl made a noise of surprise before quickly covering his eyes with his arms. "you imbecile- give me a heads up please." karl squeaked out. 

sapnap had pulled the sweater over his head. "m'sorry, you can look now though."

karl had unblocked his vision and watched as sapnap pulled something out of his pocket.  
it looked like candy, but it was weirdly wrapped in a goodie bag.

sapnap held his hand out to pass karl the bag. he hesitantly took it. "what are these?" karl asked as he opened it up.

"candies with some molly." sapnap said as he strolled to karls room, taking the change of pants with him.

karl examined it before leaving it on the counter and fixing up the couch and moving the blankets around in a brainless task.

he heard the footsteps of sapnap once again, he looked over the couch wanting to laugh at his uncoordinated walk.

karl stood up and went to get the water from the kitchen.

sapnap leaned over the side of the couch and closed his eyes. "thanks jacobs."

karl handed the water to sapnap. "for what?"

sapnap opened the bottle with a crack. "for letting me netflix and chill." the raven giggled as he took a sip of water.

karl cracked a smile. "how high do you have to be to think that's funny?" karl started to laugh in amusement.

"i'm on cloud nine baby." sapnap said raising his water bottle in a cheers-like fashion.

karl continued to laugh for a second. "i need you back down here if we're gonna watch something."  
karl moved to the couch picking up the popcorn bowl when sat down.

sapnap followed along setting the water bottle down as he sat closer towards the end of the couch karl was on.

karl watched him take a piece of popcorn and study it for a while.  
his brain had told him that this probably wasn't healthy if sapnap did this often. his voice let his concerns slip out.

"you should stop getting high alone- like maybe you should have someone with you," karl said timidly. hoping he didn't sound too critical.

sapnap had hummed as he ate the piece of popcorn. "i'm too cold to have someone with me."

karl looked at him quizzically. "what do you mean by that?"

sapnap eyes visible saddened. "i-, i'm too mean. and like distant all the time. who the hell would watch me get off my rockers, willingly."   
sapnap paused, looked at karl, and smiled sadly. "other than you."

taking another piece of popcorn, karl nodded along. "what about your roommates? you guys are good friends aren't you?"

sapnap ran a hand through his hair. "yeah but...i'm still distant from them sometimes. too cold." sapnap repeated.

"you aren't mean, i don't think so at least. i just want you to be safe i guess." karl trailed off, scanning sapnap's face to see if he had pushed any buttons he shouldn't have.

his face did turn into a sort of pouty look. "i am too. if you spent more time with me then you'd think i was, _freezing_." sapnap faced karl for once.

karl moved the popcorn bowl over and let out an exhale.

karl looked back and sapnap. "i don't care if you're cold and mean. you can make me go numb and i'd still be there."

sapnap blinked, registering the words spoken to him. his eyes held a fond look as they started to get glossy. "okay stop with the metaphors, they're making me cry."  
he said smiling, wiping away tears that started to drip down his rosy cheeks.

"you started it." karl said moving in for a hug, which sapnap idly let him indulge in. the touch was still just as feverish as when he had first had contact with sapnap. he noticed how ironic it was.

sapnap sniffled. "yeah and you continued it dork." karl only tightened his grip.

"shutdap jacobs." sapnap said laying his head on karl's shoulder seemingly okay with the physical affection. 

karl beamed squeezing sapnap once more. then he leaned back away from the hug. he didn't wanna over do it. and he didn't how much longer he could bask in sapnap warmth without it getting uncomfortable.  
"are you tired?" he asked. 

sapnap's eyes were no longer glossy as he answered, turning back to the tv. "not really..but i will be in a bit probably." 

karl moved back to his side of the couch respectively. "we could watch an episode or two then?"

sapnap pulled the blanket over him, tossing it over and sharing it with karl. "sure."

karl grabbed the remote and unpaused the screen. before cuddling down in the blanket, and letting his legs go to their full extent.  
sapnap didn't seem to mind as their legs tangled under the blanket. that or he was too busy watching the screen to care. 

the episode ran and the sounds of dialogue filled the apartment. in the quieter scenes, he could hear sapnap breath lightly. 

the screen has started to lull karl to sleep as the audio became background noise as the fuzzy white noise of sleep became more and apparent. 

karl slipped away to sleep at the sound of the intro song.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the support, im glad people are actually liking this <3


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a bad dream turns into trying some weed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bruh i struggled with this chapter because i kept thinking i couldn't write their personalities correctly. so it was rewritten a lot and i don’t wanna keep anyone waiting so no beta, apologies for mistakes.

karls cracked his eyes open as the wind on his face whipped by. he was in a car without a roof over him. he was driving down a road next to the beach and the moon. not that he could really tell because everything had been painted in gray scales. 

the ocean looked black in this new vision and moon glowed a bright white, looking a little to close to the horizon than usual.

over half of the street lamps weren't lighting up, as they drove down this empty road. he glanced at the driver, it was a blank-faced someone he knew, but he wasn't familiar with them. 

he watched as they turned the wheel even though they counted to drive completely straight. karl turned his head for other scenery to entertain him. 

beyond the other side of the road was an empty city, it had some tall buildings with all the lights perfectly on in a row. although the usual sounds of a city were missing. so were all the other cars that were supposed to be on the road. 

he straightened up a bit further in this open car he had come to like due for not having a roof. he wasn't able to see the beach before but now as they drove by there seemed to be a stone wall with stairs that followed them the father they drove. 

before long the car had stopped and the faceless man had let him know his time was up. karl looked down at him. the man had already put the car in park. he thanked him to be polite before stepping out of the car. 

his feet felt sort of heavy as he walked around the car onto the pavement of the road. as soon as he got onto the sidewalk it looked like an endless trail that followed the beach as well.

he didn't know where he was going or where he even was, karl was just enjoying the coolness of the night. not minding that it was lacking color and normal sounds of the world. 

he glanced out to the beach, having the urge to jump into the sand. but something told him not too, so he didn't. 

eventually the repeating landscape had turned into something else up ahead. there was a bridge with no beginning or end, it was just set above the road he continued to walk on.

below looked like there was one or two people standing above lighy gray lines strung up in a square. covering a small area. there was a black car that flashed blue and red along the walls under the bridge. 

he picked up his pace and jogged to the area, curious as to why he could see the colors of the lights. he had finally made it close enough to figure it was a crime scene of some sort.

normally he avoids anything he hated, and this was one of them. violence was something he knew of well but had a distaste for seeing death and pain. but something about the flashing lights that were so bright and such a contrast to the rest of the grey night, it allured him. 

karl countied on until he was so close he started to hear the sounds of jibberish being spoken by the two human like figures he saw farther away. his hands hand begun to share with anticipation or fear. he couldn't tell anymore

he stepped under the bridge it was a tad bit warmer than the cold night. although he could no longer look to the left of him to glance at the beach because the view was blocked. he got closer to the scene to watch the figures or at least see what was going on.

they were dressed up in a basic cops uniforms. they were saying something that filled the unusually slient night, but it was nothing but jibberish to karl. as he looked back and forth between their blank faces as the red and blue lights flash back and forth to light up around them.

his eye began to follow the tape that suuroded the small square next to them. it read 'do not cross' over and over again as any basic caution tape would.

something once again had to begun to pull him to step over the line. it was in the tip of his fingers and the small nosies and hid cross hairs telling him to go. he climbed over the tape despite the writing urging him not to.

there was horror on the other side of the tape. it shook karl to his core. it was a cold unwelcomed feeling that went throughout his body bringing everything he did to a stop.

their laid the body of sapnap, eyes closed shut eyelashes seeming shining in the lighting. his body was covered in random splats of icy blood that had time to settle. the blood had some value of color as did the lights of the police car. but there was no pulse or sigh of life. nor was there a stab wound or bullet stuck in his heart. there was no side of a struggle his clothes were still straight like he had simply laid down. 

despite being afraid of the lifeless icy corpse, karl had run forward to bring the body close to his heart. he held sapnap in his arms like hed been giving the responsibility to do so. he felt his tears began to fall down on him and sapnap. something was telling him that sapnap was still alive but it felt more like denial washing over him. 

death is something karl was afraid of, something he'd always avoid.

he wanted to run but he knew that he'd never get to feel the same hot embrace every again. karl didn't know what he was doing other than trying to preserve any heat sapnap gave. softly sniffling as more tears fell colder than the last. denial had started to fade and turn into a realization that sapnap was gone for good. 

he held onto the fleeting feelings and the memories that weren't coming so clearly to karl as he tried hard not to let sapnap slip through his arms. he started to feel the cold blood seep through his own hoodie the longer his arms kept sapnap enclosed. 

the blue and red flashing lights contrasted everything so much worse now. he could no longer see sapnap in color. the blood started to stand out even more as dark red blood that had been frozen to the rest of the pavement. with his and sapnaps clothes beginning to be spread with the same cold, dark red liquid. 

the jibberish behind him had gone to silence that filled the greyscale night. all that was heard was the small cries as karl held sapnap in his arms as if he was his dearest friend. 

his arms however were jerked back by the strong arms of what wasn't human. karl no longer had sapnap in his arms, as they were pulled behind his back as jibberish filled the air again. his heart began to pound as he struggled against the strength of some unimaginable human. it was the policeman. 

they started to drag him away from the once alive sapnap. he thrashed against the grip as his screams and cries that didnt sound like his own ripped through the air over the jibberish. his feet kicked the air but his arms were stuck in the same place. 

until something had made contact with his head, at first it didn't hurt and he continued to scream. but around his eyes, the greyscale night and sapnap had begun to go black until he fell to the same cold pavement. his vision flickering like a fire in the snow.

as he laid there he saw the last of the flashing car lights. the cold blood seeping into his clothes. the last thing he saw was the closed eyes and relaxed face of sapnap.

karl's face felt like it was going to overheat. he had woken up.

his eyes were blurring and he quickly sat up to get air into his lungs. 

he blinked as a tear-streaked down his face uncomfortably. the sleep and the tears in his eyes created a strange feeling in his iris. he blinked a few times to shake the feeling. 

soon his eyes became unblurred and he realized he was back in his apartment. safe and sound.

it was just a nightmare, a very strange one at that. 

but he's never been so scared he woke up crying and felt like he had been sweating. 

once some actual air entered his lungs he wiped his eyes clean of any lingering tears. his apartment lights were still on, and the candles seemed to be put out. 

sapnap was missing from the spot he was last night. 

_is he dead?_

karl ran a hand through his hair. _he probably went home nimrod._

he shuffled and tried to straighten up his clothes felt like they were sticking to him. he felt as stiff as a board from sleeping on the couch. 

he closed his eyes and tried to remember.

the blanket hit the floor with a heavy clump after karl had tossed it aside. 

he hated how his clothes we starting to cause major discomfort. his footsteps echoing through the floor as he quickly started to prepare to shower to get rid of the sticky feeling.

the water squeaking on filled his ears. his feet were subject to the cold tile; his heater not enough to reach them. water hitting the inside of the shower wall muffled the sound of karl struggling to remove his clothes. 

once he was done he blindly opened spotify hoping music would calm him down, because for some reason his heart just wouldn't slow down.

the hot water seared his skin at first before he rushed to fix it. tampering with the handles until it was a decent temperature, a little hotter than what he usually use but he didn't really care. 

he was fixated on his pulse that kept getting louder the more he tried to calm down. everything was becoming over bearing.

the sound of water hitting the wall sounded like hail as the air in his lungs escaped him through heavy labored breaths. they were sharp inhales that had begun to increase in volume. but he wouldn't notice because he can't hear anything over the sound of his pulse beating like a drum line. 

the water slipped from out under him when he rushed to hit the shower off. he missed the cold dial, so instead of turning it off it became a stream of ice hitting everywhere. it was throwing karl into a shock he couldn't handle. 

he hit the dial. the metal hitting his hand making a sound louder than his heart. with a shaky hand he finally turned off the shower. 

what was left was the sound of his heart, in his head. it made him crumble from the inside out. his body quickly moved and threw on a towel and got out the echo of the shower. 

the bath mat was the only thing keeping karl grounded. the cabinet and things around him seem to grow and become condescending. his imagination going wild. 

_”you're pathetic."_

__

__

"it's too loud." 

_"you're so annoying."_

in some sort of delirium they objects countined to speak harsh words to karl. somehow they were louder than anything loud. right now he wished he'd kept the shower on to shut them up. 

_”it was just a nightmare. you baby."_

_"pathetic."_

_they had all left because he was pathetic._

karl had been in a fetal position ever since he had crawled out of the shower. his nails were gripping the map, again the only thing grounding him as the voices continued their onslaught. the steam had made the room a haze, he hadn't even noticed he had been crying. 

nor had he noticed the shortness in his breath, or how his heart had slowed. the voices only grew but he began to breathe for once. 

something inside of him was trying to assuring him he'd be okay. he just needed to relax. somehow. 

maybe he should get something to eat, or lay down. 

his train of thought crashed when he remembered the edibles on the counter. 

the bathroom didn't seem to tower over him and the noises had turned into a defending silence. his music started tuning back into his ears. 

with shaky hands he helped himself up, and readjusted his towel. he lived alone he'd be fine. 

_alone._

he ran a hand through his hair. after slamming the bathroom door open a little to loud; his footsteps covered any other noise as he reached the kitchen. 

he hastily opened the bag. he took a gummy in hand shaking wildly, he didn't notice. 

karl had never eaten anything or even smoked before. but anything to make him feel better. he hated this feeling of being helpless.

karl popped it in his mouth, it tasted just like candy. but something was obviously off. he swallowed it regardless.

his senses were coming back after popping a few more. 

karl felt the salty streaks where he assumed his tears ran down. 

more footsteps rung throughout the apartment while he distracted himself by cleaning up and getting some clothes on. 

music still rung through his ears, it sounded amazing like it never had before as karl listened intently while cleaning. 

once he finally felt in control, and his joints felt loose his phone had abruptly stopped with music.

something was pulling him back to the couch but he couldn't ignore this call. so he headed to the bathroom fetching his phone. 

the phone hitting the title and counting to buzz scared karl, but what scared him more was the caller id.

_incoming call_

_from sappynap :D_

he looked at his phone and back the mirror. 

he had completely forget about the plans, he felt like he was supposed to be panicking but for some reason everything just felt slow instead. 

he reached down to the floor and placed the phone on the counter. 

he wiped anyway the remaining steam and the mirrors image didn't look like his own. 

sapnap was still calling, seeming to not give up. 

with a lot of hesitation karl answered while he stared into his reflection.

with a unsure tone, and cracked voice karl spoke. "hello?"

“good morning!” sapnap answered cheerfully.

karl found himself smiling. in his reflection it looked like one of sorrow though. “isn’t afternoon?” his voice cracked again. 

“yeah, man are you okay? are you sick?” sapnap questioned after a pause.

karl felt the back of his eyes water, but these were tears that he felt no emotion attached too. “yeah..you could say that.” 

there was a silence that seemed heavy with concern on sapnap end. “what’s up? like what’s wrong?” sapnap pried, unafraid of karl pushing himself away. 

karl’s eyes were torn from the mirror and then back to the shower. the more he thought about the last few hour the more tears began to spill right over his eyes were he had previously wiped them.

“it’s stupid.” karl said plainly. it was to him, it was dumb little nightmare that had set him off. to make matters worse he was going to have to explain it all at the rate this conversation was going. explain how pathetic and dumb, down right idiotic- 

“it’s okay karl. i need you to _breathe_.” 

sapnap said less headstrong. but his words seemed to carry more weight now in karl’s ears now he was listening. 

“i could hear your uh...breathing loudly from the other end. are you sure you aren’t sick?” sapnap said after a hesitant moment. 

karl slid against the wall and back onto the floor. “i’m not sick.” he said finally, his voice wavered. feeling guilty and embarrassed. maybe he was sick because now he wanted to throw up. his stomach rolled like waves.

sapnap shuffled on the other end. “can you keep breathing for me?” 

“mhm.” karl focused on breathing like instructed. 

after a minute or two karl was feeling better and his eyes didn’t feel like buckets over flowing.

“do you wanna start from..i dunno the beginning.” sapnap said, his voice was so convincing. so karl decided to listen to it.

he took one last hefty breath and exhaled. “it started when i had nightmare, as silly as it sounds..”

karl took another breathe. “don’t be weirded out..but..” karl’s words caught up and were drowned out by his anxiousness.

“but..?” sapnap questioned. 

“but when i- i saw you.” karl started over. “you were dead, in my dream. your body and everything was so weird the color was gone-“ karl counties trying to explain as much as possible.

“woah woah. you saw me, like dead?” sapnap asked seemingly unable to process it. 

“yeah.” karl answered simply. 

karl took it as sapnap was just shocked judging by the silence on the other end. 

“but then i woke up right, and tried to take shower but..” karl trailed off not wanting to really remember what happened about an hour prior,

“i can’t explain it.” karl said again after thinking over his words. “without me sounding crazy.” 

“jacobs c’mon. everyone is a little crazy.” sapnap said trying with another head on approach.

the story unraveled like yarn as karl told the intricate events of his terrible day. leaving out some details. sapnap had almost come over when karl mentioned the edibles but karl insisted not too. 

but after each word he spoke it began to chip away at his already fleeting bar of energy. 

sapnap listened and interjected from time to time. trying to be some sort of moral support. 

after it was all said in done, they talked for hours until sapnaps phone had run out of life and karl couldn’t keep his eyes open. his mouth wouldn’t stop smiling either. 

but with plans set for tomorrow at eight pm, to finally meet new people and forget about this shitty day. after some encouragement he didn’t feel so scared anymore.  
but right now karl would be stuck dead asleep against his bathroom wall with a phone held in hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so close just to start basing this shit on how i fell in love with my bestfriend 
> 
> also critique is highly appreciated, if you want to dm my twitter is @aliensluvu  
> i love you guys for leaving such nice comments makes my day and give me motivation <3  
> but updates might be slow tho, i am also missing my laptop charger so typing is hard :/


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> karl starts working his job and is stuck dreaming about rom-coms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyy.....
> 
> im so sorry for such a late update i was once again struggling to write their characters- thank you for your patience though :)  
> i will be writing a pretty long chapter to try and make up for it lol
> 
> once again, not beta read

rushing down the sidewalk as cars passed by reflecting some of the sun's last lights of the day into his eyes. it surprised him that it was still even light out.

it was seven-thirty pm and he was not about to be late on his first day. the first day of his job he had completely forgotten about.

finals were catching up and so was winter break but right now he had a job to get to. he cursed the universe and his poor timing.

his plans of meeting sapnap hadn't crossed his mind until he was outside of the cafe, orange light casting on his face.

the same light making it hard for him to see his phone- he needed to quickly text sapnap. he had never typed out an apology faster.

but hey at least he wasn't late, not yet anyway.

not even knowing if he sent the message he hurried into the cafe. some indie music filling his ears with the ring of the door he hadn't noticed last time.

the cafe wasn't that full and no one batted an eye at him. expect for wilbur, which he had recognized from last time.

he walked across the semi-small cafe and wilbur silently lit up, waving at karl. he pointed to the back, a signal for karl to walk behind the counter.

which he did struggling to move the little gate, but eventually got it. all he could think about was how dumb he looked right now.

wilbur moved over from the counter after glancing around and heading to another door marked with 'break room' karl hadn't noticed before either.

wilbur motioned for karl to follow him again. so karl walked in the door shutting behind him and wilbur. karl started to stare around looking to avoid any awkward conversations.

it was a small room with some dark green aprons hung on the wall, the same one wilbur was wearing.

there was also a table with two chairs set out. with their own coffee machine covered in googly eyes. it was on top of a rather barren counter.

there were two back-packs under the same aprons, one of the backpacks had a bee pin and the other had a painted disc poorly done.

"you're really early for your first day-...or rather night." wilbur said simply after karl was done analyzing the room.

karl turned around to face wilbur, his height now intimidating. "yeah, i wanted a good first impression."

wilbur shrugged. "you're already good in my book." he stepped over to the coffee machine. there was a pause. "you have to worry about the other two."

now karl was nervous. he ran his tongue across his bottom lip. "who exactly?"

the coffee machine made a beeping noise. "tommy and tubbo." he took a cup from the cabinet above. karl made note of where they kept the cups.

"tommy's my annoying little brother." he said in a sour tone. then wilbur put the cup under the coffee dispenser after he turned it on and looked at karl. "tubbo is his best friend.  
they work part-time, your shift starts near where their ends." 

karl nodded, his fingers still moving mindlessly. "cool." 

karl awkwardly pointed to the aprons. "do we all wear them?" 

wilbur looked back up and nodded. "yeah, sorry if you think it's tacky. phil said we needed some kind of uniform." 

karl gave a shy laugh. "it's okay." he swallowed. "so do i just put it on?" he couldn't help but feel as if he was raiding awkward vibes. it was hard to tell because wilbur sure wasn't giving any indication. 

"right! i'm supposed to be showing you around." wilbur grabbed his now finished cup of coffee. "go ahead and put it on i'll be outside." he exited. 

after struggling with the apron, and thinking it covered his cool sweater a bit too much he went out.

* * *

quickly after giving karl the run down wilbur left with tommy and tubbo. karl sort of like the kids. teens? he didn't know but he thought they were nice enough. maybe a bit loud, especially the blond one tommy. but cool overall. 

it was five minutes after they'd left and nobody had come in since, wilbur had luckily taught him how to work the cashier just in case. what karl worried about was actually taking orders and speaking with people. 

he guessed someone else would be starting their shift as well too. as he thought the front bell rang his eyes quickly snapped up  
.  
there was a boy with a duffle bag and blue beanie covering the majority of his hair. karl blinked away and tried to ignore the flips of his stomach and the threat of acid-spewing out.  
karl watched the guy walk right behind the counter. opening the little gate with practiced ease. then made his way to the break room. 

karl's nerves skyrocketed and his chest felt like it was being drowned in a heavy storm. he could handle a customer but he didn't think he was ready to talk to the person with whom he'd be sharing his shift.

he worried about bad impressions turned to hatred- or getting fired for being a bad co-worker. but what seemed like seconds was a couple of minutes and he heard the knock of the break room door.  
then there was the same guy, a few feet away at the other register. counting the money in a steady beat. he was whispering the number under his breath. 

karl tried not to stare.

he looked away and started planning his funeral - either he'd die from embarrassment. or maybe his heart would explode. maybe he wanted that. 

karl fixed his hair and was disappointed in these thoughts. he decided to go back to his regular area and try and straighten up all the types of whip cream. the feeling in his chest eased up as he wondered why there weren't any customers. 

there was a small slam of the register being shut. then there was a small gasp.

"oh you're the new guy!" the other dragged out the 'guy' in a strange way. but karl turned back around, now noticing how he was just a little taller than the other. although that didn't stop him from wanting to combust then and there. 

"yeah, that's me." karl said, but his voice cracked and he'd never forgive himself for it. 

"my name's quackity- well that's my nickname," quackity said simply. 

karl nodded, before he felt stupid for not saying his name too. "i'm karl. uh, with a k." he added. 

"ahhhh, i'm glad you got hired. the night shifts alone were starting to haunt my dreams." quackity chuckled at his own joke. 

karl wasn't completely sure what that meant but he found himself laughing along with. and his nerves eased up. karl decided he was doing okay for a first impression.  
"speaking of, where is everyone?" karl asked, his tone a little quiet. 

quackity looked at the clock, and then back at karl. "just wait until some of the night classes let out." he started to smile again. "that's when the caffeine and the cocaine addicts come in." quackty added an 'oh ho ho' 

karl found himself letting out another laugh because quackity was right after all. 

"lets gooo." karl added, but right after karl started regretting his existence- simply because he thought his joke was unfunny. 

but surprisingly quackity joined in. "let's gooooooo." 

after a pause which karl thought was awkward, quackity chimed back in. "i like you carlos, you're funny." he said in a strange accent.

karl beamed, he hadn't ever really been called funny. or at least he doesn't remember being called it.

"thanks." karl moved some of his hair out of his face.

after a few more minutes of banter, there were finally people coming in. so they had to knock it off and actually start working.

* * *

for the most part, karl could keep up with orders- he didn't even mess one up. probably because quackity started to repeat the orders for karl until he was done. it was sort of embarrassing but as long as no one else noticed it was fine. 

plus, he didn't think it would be so easy to serve- most of the people just accepted the coffee with a thank you. most of their eyes glued to work.

as soon as the rush had slowed down karl leaned on the counter thinking about how he could be a part of a cheesy rom-com. he'd be the hot barista the regular would fall in love with. well- he'd be the clumsy barista that would spill a drink on his future lover. 

he probably had some day-dreaming look plastered on his face because quackity eyed him suspiciously. 

they shared a look- and then it turned into a giggle. like when the teacher told you not to laugh and you'd look at your best friend and laugh anyway. 

the ringing of the door's bell made their worker minds turn back on as they both snapped their head towards the door. 

karl swears his soul left his body as soon as he caught sight of who walked in. but he guesses it was in a good kinda way.

it was none other than sapnap himself. 

karl broke out into a smile, be it a nervous one as he approached, he didn't even notice the other two behind him. 

sapnap waved almost shyly as he walked over the counter, greeting him. then all his attention was off karl as he ordered for him and the other two behind him. 

karl took the time to get a good look at the other two, one was wearing a blue medical mask that matched his basic outfit. while the other's only redeeming fashion quality was his clout goggles.  
as soon as he heard the orders he started to make them, he didn't need qauckity to repeat them this time unsurprisingly. 

karl was too excited about sapnap showing up to even care about the other two. he was jittering around like he just had three shots of black coffee while he made the drinks. 

he was so hyper-focused on making sure the drinks were good enough, he knew usually nobody would work this hard when they were being paid minimum wage. 

once the final ring of one of the brewers went off he quickly grabbed the drinks and prayed he wouldn't trip over the cracked tile in the center of the cafe. 

as he approached he almost completely ignored the other two who were there, in favor of sending sapnap the brightest smile he could muster.

* * *

karl handed the drinks without making eye contact, before finally finding some words in his throat after being in sort of a giddy high for a second. this was something that probably only happened in rom-coms too. you get to see your friend on the first day of work. although sadly most of the time they were a side character. 

"i didn't know you'd show up." karl said, now unnervingly aware that there was in fact, still two other people there. 

"yeah but i'm here now. what you aren't happy to see me?" 

"of course i am, just how exactly did you stalk your way over here?" karl asked jokingly, but he's pretty sure sapnap didn't even know where he worked.

sapnap had a sort of cocky look on his face, "a little googling gets you a long way." he explained.

"oh my god you're so weird sapnap." karl's eyes darted to the boy in the goggles. he had an accent that almost seemed out of place. karl cracked a smile.

"shut up _gogy_ , like you don't-" 

"shut up. you're literally so annoying." 

the one in the mask looked like he was holding back loud laughter. 

"yeah no, i think i agree with him, er. your friend on this one." karl finally said as the other two were having a stare-off. 

sapnap sighed in disappointment. "nobody loves me! expect you do, right dream?" sapnap pointed at him. 

dream could be seen almost grinning behind his mask. "always." 

sapnap lit back up and counties. "anyway, sorry this is karl." he paused. "karl, meet dream and george, my roommates." 

karl's head almost imploded on itself with this information. these two were the ones he was supposed to meet.

the thought of seeing them had made him so stressed out and now that they were in person, he felt seasick. _what if he'd already made a bad impression, what if they didn't like his sweater, what if-_

"it's nice to meet you karl, i like your shoes by the way." dream said, smiling behind his mask once again.

"ah, thank you. dream." he added his name almost awkwardly at the end. he felt like jumping off the titanic. 

sapnap hit george across the table. "george be nice," he said, almost sounding genuinely angry. 

"what am i supposed to say?" george asked his accent adding a layer of sass. 

"it's fine. i'm glad i got to meet you guys. i've gotta get back to work though," karl tried to sound enthusiastic because somewhere in his head he hoped he could save himself.  
sapnap seemed to accept defeat, for now. but he was still glaring at george. 

karl waved and started walking back to his post. feeling a little better about his job. 

he almost didn't notice when george said something. 

"i like your sweater karl, it looks cool." 

ok maybe he didn't make a too bad impression. karl went back to his post with a dumb grin.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> karl goes out for a holiday and ends up fussing up to his mom about his problems, and getting a therapist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read!!  
> also i hope this makes up for all the late posts lol :)

it was surprisingly easy to live on barely any sleep most of the time, or karl learned if you had the help of monsters and a lot of determination.

not that his work really fucked up his schedule, he already stayed up late overthinking. but work was just his outlet now.

but what was the kicker was the hours and upon hours on the phone with sapnap. really they needed to hang out more in person because it was destroying his phone bill and his energy.

one time he was so tired karl thought he saw the same guy from his nightmare, about a week back. and he was going to be abducted back into dreamland. but turns out it was just a coat on his chair. almost scared him right out of his dorm. literally, he debated jumping out the window.

but now was not the time, he was busy just having a night to himself. doing his favorite thing, take pictures.

he had taken so many pictures in the last hour, he was messing around with prospectives. karl thought of serval projects he could do. maybe comparing his pictures of the city to older pictures.

one of the things that interested him in photography was the history behind it, or rather what pictures can capture.  
he loved seeing out photos of anything. he just always felt connected to them for some reason. it's also why he considered history as his major too.

now he knows maybe one day his photos will be the ones in museums. or maybe in a huge time capsule that you made in pre-k. but that was just him being ambitious.

as he walks away from the local park karl thinks about how he once took an online test to see if he had a past life too. for shits and giggles of course, when he was done it showed a picture of some random guy that was taken off google. it disappointed him just a little bit.

karl rounded the corner to his building parking lot. he always felt awkward holding his camera in public. he quickly stuffed it away and slug the case around his shoulder. karl was ready to return to his hermit hole and study.

his converse hit the pavement a little louder than he wanted to when his phone buzzed away in his back pocket.

'course he rolled his eyes when he saw who was calling. none other than sapnap, but right now he needed to get to his apartment.

he quickly made his way skipping up flights of stairs. the elevator would've been a few extra seconds. and he didn't wanna keep sapnap waiting.

once karl stepped foot on his carpet he called back, it didn't even ring twice before he got an answer.

"helloooo, mr.jacobs."

karl smiled, "good afternoon sappy dappy." another new nickname to add to the list.

"never call me that again dude." you hear his frown over the phone.

karl threw his book bag aside knowing he was getting no work done today. "i thought you loved me." he was trying to be as dramatic as possible.

"karl i will literally break in and kiss you, now get on cod." 

karl let himself have a giddy moment in the comfort of his dorm before heading to his computer.

"sap, remind me i need to get another monitor so i can do homework." karl paused as his computer turned on. "and watch you play like you're from nineteen-eighty six."

"what the hell, that was a bad insult but i'm still mad." you could hear sapnap typing away.

karl opened cod. "it had the..karl jacobs charm."

"no, dude. it was bad." sapnap said with no bite.

karl hummed joining the party and putting his phone on speaker. a scuffed way to play cod if you asked him.

once the countdown started both of their avatars faced each other and jumped together in unison. it was a ritual they always did.

"karl, karl- karl!" sapnap yelled as gunshots were coming from karl's speakers a little too loud for his taste.

"are you already dying??" karl asked.

you could hear a lot of clicking before a response came through. "not anymore, like three of them came out of nowhere."

"there's only four people on their team." karl laughed while securing a turf.

"what is this? bully sapnap day?"

karl zoned into the game before answering. "it's not my fault you play like your mom."

sapnap laughed before showing up right next to karl's avatar, they were about to win. unless the last guy somehow clutched up.

"wassuppppp," sapnap said shaking his character left and right. trying to mimic a sort of chad voice.

"wassuppppppp." karl said back unable to hold his obvious laugh at the end.

the first round ended with them getting the waypoint.

karl knew full and well he needed to do some of his assignments before he went to work tomorrow.

he clicked away upgrading his guns and buying another. "hey sapnap,"

"yo," he responded making his character jump.

"if we win, you have to come over and watch me do homework," karl said meaning it this time.

"i dunno, work is hard. can't i just make up lose?" sapnap said as the game started.

"if you do you gotta paypal me fifty bucks." karl finished chasing after sapnap.

"fat chance. get ready to win," sapnap answered, full confidence. 

they won, but sapnap was the first to die.

* * *

karl was lighting candles as soon as he heard an extremely loud knock at the door. any harder and he thought it would break his poor cheap door.

"it's unlocked nimrod," he shouted putting his lighter away.

the door opened with a quick creak, and the sound of shoes being shrugged off was heard.

karl turned around, sapnap looked as energetic as he usually did. sometimes it was hard to tell if sapnap thought something was funny because of how often he kept up a poker face.

sapnap jumped onto the couch and stretched.

karl smiled to himself. "get comfy, you're gonna be here for a bit."

"you better have snacks then." sapnap said crawling into karl's favorite corner of the couch.

karl started towards his bedroom to get his laptop and camera. "you know where your snacks are." he said mindlessly thinking of his next assignments.

karl heard his cabinets open and close as he stacked up all his supplies. he shut off his bedroom light before hurrying back to the living room.

the smell of his limited edition christmas candle started to overpower his nose. they must have made the christmas collection stronger he thought to himself tossing his gadgets on the couch.

speaking of Christmas, it was getting dangerously close. he spent his thanksgiving and Halloween alone already. but he knows he can't spend christmas alone happily.

he had already made plans to see his parents anyway. he wondered what they wanted this year. he got lost in his thoughts as his flash drive loaded into his computer.

it's only when sapnap sat across from him with a bowl of hot chips did karl remembers he's got sapnap to give a gift to.

he looked back down at his computer. "what do you want for christmas nappy?"

"for you to stop making up dumb nicknames, or a new mouse," he stated simply.

"a new mouse?" karl asked curiously.

"i rage once and a while. it's messed up the coordination," he says popping a gummy worm.

karl made sure to put on a confused face. "is that why you're dogwater?"

"aren't you supposed to be doing homework right now?" sapnap said, bow looking directly at karl.

"oh i am, it's loading though." karl shot back smugly.

"whatever, what do you want? for christmas." sapnap clarified.

karl almost felt bad for saying this," nothing, you don't need to get me anything."

"seriously jacobs? fine, i'll get you all the graphic adventure time t-shirts i can find."

karl scoffed while he opened up his editing app. "fine fine, you've bought your way into my heart."

"yeah, and it was easy." sapnap tossed a gummy worm in the air to try and catch it in his mouth, but he missed and karl cracked a smile. before remembering where he was going to take this conversation.

"also, I'll probably be at my parent's house for at least a week of the break." karl quickly looked at sapnap for approval.

he caught the exact moment where sapnap frowned, and then went back to his poker face.

"a week?" sapnap said, like he didn't hear it the first time.

"a week." karl repeated, still watching.

sapnap thought for a moment. "so i can still spend at least one week with you?" he met karl's eyes.

"well, it's not like you spend an entire two weeks at my apartment so it's not so bad." his eyes avoided sapnap's pity gaze.

"i can't?" sapnap asked in a high whiny tone. "can i at least spend one?" sapnap was determined it seemed.

"don't you have roommates?"

"well, yeah dude. but...i dunno i like hanging out with you a lot." sapnap confessed, in the same honest tone he usually has when he's high.

it's what sucker-punched karl in his heart and made a smile creep back upon his face. it was a welcomed feeling.

"and- we could all spend new years together if you want, or go to a party," sapnap added as an attempt to further push karl into letting him stay.

and it did work.

"fine, but i have work once a get back," karl said glancing back up a little more confident.

sapnap silently cheered, and then stuck out a gummy worm for karl.

karl kept the same smiled and took the gummy worm by his mouth.

as he chewed sapnap stretched out his legs. "so what work are you doing again?"

karl swallowed. "so basically i have to make these pictures look better." he turned his laptop around and started to explain his favorite way to edit things.

* * *

it was really cold outside.

the frost tried to get to his fingers as he adjusted his gloves.

he looked at the airport, the outside was covered in colorful christmas lights. they were one of his favorite things about winter.

karl had a flight to catch though. it wasn't the longest one though so he didn't think he needed to sleep on the plane.

he rolled his suitcase along with a bag filled with a couple of presents. he was excited to see his folks. he did speak to his mom often but it wasn't the same as getting to hug her.

he was completely ready to face any delay or issue because he had chugged a monster on his way here.

he just hoped that he wouldn't pass out once he got home.

after flying through all the security with only one or two internal panics he sat and waited to board his plane.

he had an extra thirty minutes, he didn't wanna be last minute or late if something went wrong.

the gloves he had on were quickly removed so he could get on his phone.

surprisingly he had three missed messages from sapnap, and two other numbers.

sappy

_'hey'_

_'hey'_

_'jacobs i gave my roommates ur number i dunno if that is ok'_

_'r u on the plane?'_

karl rolled his eyes but was now sort of dreading reading the other new messages.

_'no its okay :D'_

_'ill be on the plane in about 27 minutes tho'_

_'okay jacobs don't die'_

karl smiled, and then prepared himself for the next to messages

_unknown number_

_'hello, this is dream sapnap's roomate lol'_

karl wasn't sure how to exactly respond so he stuck with the basics

_'hi this is karl the one guy who gave u coffee one time and i wear sweaters'_

karl could feel the embarrassment creep up on him as soon as dream started to type.

_'ok yeah i remember you, happy holidays :)'_

_'you too'_

karl hesitates to continue typing.

_'don't let sapnap get too high pls'_

_'alrighty'_

karl exhaled and then moved onto what he assumed to be geogre's text.

_unknown number_

_'hi'_

_'hello is this george?'_

_'yes'_

_'okay have a good holiday!"_

no response was given after a minute or two. karl decided to distract himself from it before he started to overthink his existence.

after being sucked into social media for a bit then the call for his plane was made, and he was finally going to go home.

he took the small bag of his personal items and entered the plane.

he was going home.

* * *

his mom greeted him at the door with a hug and then sweet-talked him into eating half of her gingerbread cookies. not that karl was complaining. airplane food was never the best anyway.

his dad was knocked out on the couch, it was twelve am so it made sense.

he caught his mom up on all his current studies and they gossiped about all the other ladies she worked with.

he told her all about the people he met, and finally told her where he was working. she supported him as always.

he also may have gotten carried away with explaining why certain color filters worked while others didn't. but his mom just smiled and nodded.

people he knew were so much easier to talk to.

karl was placing his parent's presents under their christmas tree when his dad woke up. 

his dad bullied him for not growing any taller, while also being shorter than him. then started a fire for them.

karl was glad that it wasn't the typical family christmas stay. it had always been him, and his mom and dad. and he wouldn't change it for the world. it also saved him from a big festive family gathering he was always told about. and he was very happy without it.

they all binged Christmas movies and karl can't remember when he had felt this comfortable.

although there was the thought of sapnap lingering in the back of his head. it a was small voice that told him to text him. but karl was too tired to listen.

so as his mom and dad playfully argued about how they didn't like how the elves were designed he drifted off in his favorite crocheted blanket.

* * *

the moment he woke up he could smell something extremely good cooking up in the kitchen.

it was most likely bacon and his mom's cinnamon rolls, his favorite.

he rolled off the couch and sat up using the coffee table, directing his attention to his mom and dad in the kitchen. both cooking with the matching aprons he had gotten them once.

he stretched and popped his back, letting his brain get back to him. 

he did need to unpack so he wordlessly went back to his old room with his bags in tow.

his room was untouched except for the few vacuum lines that looked new. 

he remembers that he did end up leaving his stock of all his favorite candles when he left. he almost went back for them too.

but he had to get back to what he originally did. unpacking all his clothes neatly.

his eyes got lost while he looked around idly, all those nights his friends would come over.

or rather they weren't much of friends anymore. he moved out of his hometown expecting to still talk to these people but it was like they cut all contact.

and he was kind of tired of thinking about them if they didn't care about him. although he doesn't know what he was thinking when he moved two states away. of course, they were gonna leave him.

he likes to think he's not naive anymore, but this obviously not true when he let a drunken into his apartment without a second thought.

he hopes that his new friends, or if he could call them that yet- don't leave him. especially sapnap.

he doesn't even remember when all these irrational thoughts came into question- maybe college does something to a man.

he takes off his old clothes, shuttering when he remembered that he had been at an airport the previous day.  
skipping off for a quick shower in the bathroom.

it was a lot different from his own, but he was sure he'd never forget what it looked like. nor forget why some of the tiles were chipped or all the loose marks on the wall. it's what made up his semi lonely childhood.

but ignoring that for now he wanted to have some cinnamon rolls soon since the last time he ate it was crappy airport food and his mom's gingerbread cookies.

he turned on the water and started his routine.

he knew his mom could hear him coming down the steps, he was in a hurry and stomping quite loudly.

karl smiled when their eyes met from the kitchen and he quickly made his way over because his stomach was eating itself inside out by now.

"good morning." his mother said placing his plate out.

"good morning, where's dad?" he asked before starting to scarf down his food.

"he went out to get a surprise," she said cleaning the cabinets.

karl chugged a nearby water bottle. "i told you guys not to get too much for me, you didn't go overboard right?" he said jokingly.

"i almost did, your father had to hold me back." he could see her crack a smile.

he hummed while chewing another bite of food.

"have any of your new friends spoil you yet?" karl took another sip of water.

he was silent for a minute before deciding to respond. "well sapnap threatened me, and is getting me a few shirts. otherwise no." he said, not sure why he was uncomfortable with the topic all of a sudden.

"he has such a strange name, but as long as he treats my boy right," she said almost smugly.

"mom, don't talk about him like that," he wanted to hide away in his cartoon network hoodie.

the click of silverware was heard throughout the kitchen in the silence. "finish your cinnamon rolls and then i'll pester you more."

karl groaned but took another bite.

* * *

after his dad took them to every place possible and they finally got home. his parents were already in bed. while karl was tired, his brain had been trained to stay wide awake. curse his sleeping schedule.

he opened his phone and out of habit went to youtube. he didn't even know what he really wanted to do. maybe he'd just lay in bed till the sunrise.

he looked at his childhood alarm clock, 'four fourth five am' he could read it out clearly.

karl got a better idea though, quickly closing his bedroom door and hitting the call button.

"hello?" an almost undead sapnap said, the sleep still in his voice was extremely clear through the speaker.

oh, karl had seemed to forget that he was at least a good forty minutes ahead.

"sorry,- i just wanted to call you." he laughed nervously. "forgot it's even earlier for you."

he heard rustling. "well at least it's winter break, so you get off lucky this time." sapnap yawned on the other end.

"have you just been home?" karl asked wondering to his window.

"sleeping' in. coach said i have to get back to practice by thursday,"

"isn't it wednesday?" karl opened his blinds, the sky was starting to brighten as the sun would properly rise in about an hour or two.

"what the fuck- seriously?" sapnap was bewildered. karl let himself laugh a little at him.

"whatever i'm gonna start on food for the other two." sapnap said, you could hear covers being tossed around on the other end.

"oh, yeah. i did get their texts." karl paused. "george left me on read."

"yeah he does that a lot, he's either sleeping or being a smart ass." sapnap footsteps got louder once he was on the hardwood,

"well i hope he warms up to me," and he was being genuine, he was worried that george would go back to hating him.

sapnap makes quite a lot of noise getting pans out of the cabinet. "don't worry about it. he still doesn't like me." sapnap laughed to himself.

karl swallowed looking out across his old neighborhood.

"george might be scary, but i promise he will come around." a fridge door was opened. "i could hear you worrying on the other end."

karl covered his small smile with his sweater sleeve, despite being alone. "okay, i'll trust you for now. nimrod."

"i'm wounded jacobs," the fridge door was slammed shut.

karl settled his body weight on his other foot. "that's what your mom said to me last night."

"that makes no sense- oh, i gotta go." sapnap paused. "dreamy is awake. wish me luck."

"wishing you luck." karl listened closely for any sign that dream was actually there.

"k, love you kar-" the call was ended before sapnap could finish.

karl responded anyway. "i love you sapnap."

he let himself fall back onto his bed gracefully. bouncing once he hit the covers.

he put his phone aside and looked at the clock one more time.

_'five am'_

his heart should not be going this fast at five in the morning.

* * *

chirstmas had gone past a little too quickly for karl's liking but he still got to share it with family so that was a win in his book.

he had gotten several gifts, and his dad even got him a bean bag chair. thankfully he shipped it via amazon to karl instead of having it go through the airport. and he still wasn't sure if all his gifts would fit along with him. 

he also picked up a couple of gifts, for his new friends. even a card for sapnap. 

karl was going home tonight, but he still wanted to get something off his chest to his mother.

he waited for the perfect time, while she was cooking.

wandering back up to a barstool karl watched his mother. she was making one last lunch for him.

"hello child," she said while cutting tomatoes. already knowing it was karl without having to turn around.

"hey mom, can i ask you something?" karl slid into the stool.

"of course," she started to hum some song. 

karl took a deep breath before telling her everything, about sapnap, him freaking out and his old friends ghosting him.

it all came pouring out like an overflowed water fountain. 

he didn't completely mean to share all the things he did but he didn't regret sharing them. 

and when he was done karl didn't notice his dad had joined as well.

and when he was finished- his mother seemed very hurt and his dad had taken off his glasses. which scared him deeply. 

his mother looked him into the eyes before taking off her gloves and giving him a hug, and he welcomed it with open arms. 

and now he was in tears once his dad joined in. 

he seriously didn't deserve them both.

* * *

all he ordered his thoughts together while he rode his plane thousands of feet in the air, his mother was getting him a therapist and paying for it. she told him it was now considered a christmas gift. he cried a bit more than he would like to admit.

he ate his mother's sandwich while flying, luckily he got a window seat on his way back. although a toddler wouldn't stop making noises from somewhere in the plane.

regardless he still thought about a lot of things, his problems, grades, and tried to revalue his emotional state.

normal things you do on a commercial flight without wifi. 

and by the time he landed, sapnap had already been spam texting him. 

about gifts, the party, and even movies they should watch. karl would relay once he got out of the airport. hell is a place on earth and it is called baggage claim. 

once everything was together and he made sure nothing was stolen in his bags he took the bus back to his apartment. 

it was almost awkward carrying all his new bags around, so he quickly tried to get out of the lobby.

and by the time he was up all the stairs and in his room he was dead tired. maybe he should have napped on the plane. 

but he powers on and unpacks cracking a monster halfway through. he also puts his new stuff away, they also got him a couple of candles. 

although his apartment isn't that different, it feels more lively somehow. 

after emailing phil, he really needs to get the man's number- karl jumps onto the couch. 

right he still has to text sapnap back. 

karl replies to everything but the party because he's too tired to think about a future social situation. 

then promptly passes out on the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would like to say thank you for all the kudos and comments i am very happy people enjoy this :)  
> and i feel like i'm getting a little better at their characters as a whole so cheers to that
> 
> also updates might be even slower sorry! im trying to write another karlnap but i want to finish it all before posting :)
> 
> my twt - @aliensluvu

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading this really, i dont think its gonna to get out their because karlnap is sort of underground right now, or when i was writing this it was lol 
> 
> have a goodnight/day <3


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